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Lessons learned because of skiing.

Peaheartsmama

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I have found that women put ourselves at the bottom of our lists of important things. I own a business and have 2 teenage daughters. Before I started skiing, my hobbies consisted of working a lot, cooking and driving my daughters to their lessons/school/parties, etc. Nothing that I truly loved to do just for me that wasn't work. I still do all the working, cooking and driving, but I also take lots of time for myself to ski. Not only am I a better person for it, but in just few years my girls will be out of the house and I am so happy to be able to look ahead and have something to look forward to doing that I love. It is important for women to have a passion (or at least like to do something) that is not related to work or family and I didn't realize this until I started skiing. So this is what skiing has taught me.
Totally agree with this. It's one of the things I'm doing just for myself. Even when I'm dragging two preschoolers along for the ride, it still feels like I'm doing something I really really enjoy doing for myself.
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
It's not just an issue for women (putting themselves on the bottom of their priorities). I'm pretty good at achieving work life balance. DH - he's pretty horrible at it and work takes priority over everything, including his health. (Quite literally put off an eye doctor visit for 5 years. When his eye had been bothering him the whole time...) He just quit his job, but I'm not convinced that he's going to be any different being self employed than working for a corporation. The change he needs is one of making himself a priority. Because I'd say he also puts skiing and biking as higher priorities than he puts himself as well. Which may sound weird, but when you go out when you're sick/injured/don't want to because you're too exhausted from work but insist that you have to because you "should" - that's not respecting your body and mind either. Skiing can be restorative for body and mind, but not when you turn it into something you feel you must do at the expense of your health. And that's what I learned from skiing years ago. After enough knee surgeries, I was skiing because I believed that's who I was, so even if it put me in misery the whole time and I couldn't walk afterwards, I went. Because what would I be if I didn't? I was miserable and afraid of what would happen if I couldn't keep doing it forever. And then I realized what I was doing to myself, cut way back on skiing and replaced it with yoga and sports that are gentler on my body. These days, I'm a way happier and healthier person and skiing is one of many things I do for fun. It's not who I am.
 

MaineSkiLady

Angel Diva
Thanks for posting this, @altagirl . Salient points.

There is a very fine - and sometimes fuzzy - line between being enthusiastic and passionate about something and being obsessed with it. And then comes the compulsion factor - notably, here at least, with equipment acquisition.

One always needs to consider the “what if’s.” What if something happened to me, rendering me unable to ski, possibly forever more, if not a fairly lengthy period of time? Or someone else in my family?

Frankly, the odds are in favor that, at some point in time, based on years of participation, something will interfere - as it did for me this past ski season. It’s important to have the ability to jump tracks, get moving in another direction - and be willing to accept what may come.

It’s all well and good to love a sport - any sport, for that matter. But when and if the time or circumstance comes that it renders us two-dimensional, it’s time to take a giant dose of introspection - and reevaluate.
 

Albertan ski girl

Angel Diva
One of the most important things skiing (and biking) has done for me is give me confidence in my body and in my own physicality. I never really considered myself athletic growing up. I did well in class, went to a good college etc, and people always reinforced the idea that I was 'smart,' and that 'doing things with my mind' was really my strength. It took me a long time (until my late 20s and early 30s) to start thinking differently. I went through a painful divorce, got a job, moved across the continent and met a wonderful man with two kids. They all loved being outdoors and were life-long skiers. I loved being with them, but also often felt incompetent and like an intruder. With their encouragement though, I started skiing...and hiking..and climbing...and running. Skiing was tough to begin as an adult, but it also did amazing things for my confidence. I fell a lot, but I also learned to listen to my body, trust my body when going down a mountain and eventually, feel a great connection to the world around my through this body and the feet (and thighs!) that got me down a steep snowy slope. Like many of you on this site, I feel an incredible sense of peace in the mountains, and a great love of the amazing things that human bodies can do. Skiing really began a process, for me, of getting to know my body - its likes, its dislikes - and also, of liking my body and thinking it is strong, deserved attention and should be cared for in important ways. I feel that this is especially important with SO's daughter. She's only 10, but I already see how self-conscious she can feel about her very strong and athletic body. I want her to see her body for what it is: a beautiful, strong, capable part of us that let's us do amazing things, see amazing places. She's also a big reason why I started biking - it was something we could do together, something we both loved and that took us to new places. Skiing was really the first sport that made me feel this connection, and that made me appreciate what a wonderful opportunity we have to get to know our physical strengths.
 

contesstant

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Throwing some humor in, but I have learned that I ski a whole lot better in good visibility than bad :tongue: I have also learned that I am truly addicted to skiing, and am going to go through serious withdrawals here shortly!

Skiing allows me to enjoy the small moments, the moments of beauty that nature offers up, the moments of entertainment watching others ski while riding the lift.
 

gardenmary

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I've told this story elsewhere on this site - skiing helped me confront a wall of fear that not only kept me from skiing well, but kept my confidence bottled. Once I got a handle on the dynamics of that fear, and figured out how to overcome it, my life shifted dramatically - things fell into place, but I was also far better equipped to step into those things. I'll be forever grateful to my ski coach for his guiding me through that process.
 

elemmac

Angel Diva
Skiing has taught me countless lessons that could be applied to life, many of which have been mentioned in the article from Forbes or other comments in the thread. One of the greatest lessons skiing has brought into my life, are lessons about community. The ski community is a unique group of remarkable individuals. From ski bums to weekend warriors, we're all part of the same community and have the same love for skiing. It's a love you can't really explain. There are people that ski, and then there are skiers. Only skiers really know what that love is all about. It's those individuals that have taught me so much about the power of kindness, comradery, courage and being true to yourself.
 

Katiebishop17

Diva in Training
One of the most important things skiing (and biking) has done for me is give me confidence in my body and in my own physicality. I never really considered myself athletic growing up. I did well in class, went to a good college etc, and people always reinforced the idea that I was 'smart,' and that 'doing things with my mind' was really my strength. It took me a long time (until my late 20s and early 30s) to start thinking differently. I went through a painful divorce, got a job, moved across the continent and met a wonderful man with two kids. They all loved being outdoors and were life-long skiers. I loved being with them, but also often felt incompetent and like an intruder. With their encouragement though, I started skiing...and hiking..and climbing...and running. Skiing was tough to begin as an adult, but it also did amazing things for my confidence. I fell a lot, but I also learned to listen to my body, trust my body when going down a mountain and eventually, feel a great connection to the world around my through this body and the feet (and thighs!) that got me down a steep snowy slope. Like many of you on this site, I feel an incredible sense of peace in the mountains, and a great love of the amazing things that human bodies can do. Skiing really began a process, for me, of getting to know my body - its likes, its dislikes - and also, of liking my body and thinking it is strong, deserved attention and should be cared for in important ways. I feel that this is especially important with SO's daughter. She's only 10, but I already see how self-conscious she can feel about her very strong and athletic body. I want her to see her body for what it is: a beautiful, strong, capable part of us that let's us do amazing things, see amazing places. She's also a big reason why I started biking - it was something we could do together, something we both loved and that took us to new places. Skiing was really the first sport that made me feel this connection, and that made me appreciate what a wonderful opportunity we have to get to know our physical strengths.

These are great points and are exactly how I feel. I grew up as a non-athletic kid and didn't find sports or athletic activities until my late 20's when I learned how to skate and joined an adult women's hockey league. I have long been afraid of the idea of skiing - I dislike heights and thought the lifts would be too much to handle, I still don't feel confident that I'm athletic, and thought that I would be a disaster on skis. I was finally convinced to try it this winter and really can't express how wonderful it is. For me, it's equal parts feeling a sense of accomplishment at overcoming fear, a sense of freedom and joy at the liberating feeling of speed, and a sense of peace that comes with the total focus/mindfulness required in the present moment - no wandering and thinking about work or other responsibilities. There's a beautiful combination of confidence building and peace that I didn't expect to get out this activity.
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
:bump: This is an interesting old thread. Anyone have anything to add?
 

Olesya Chornoguz

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
It is a great thread and a great article. I think what skiing has taught me is that I really enjoy challenge and I enjoy learning new stuff! I kind of knew it because I am a scientist, but skiing really drove it home for me! I also realized I like speed and a bit of adventure occasionally when skiing, but I am also somewhat risk averse - "reasonably cautious" as one of the instructors who I took a few lessons from described me. And yes sometimes you have to take a plunge and make that first turn, no matter how scary the terrain is, it's true in life too - just like the article says!
 

newboots

Angel Diva
@ski diva - Wow!

I'm sure everyone is sick to death of my story, but wow. I learned to ski last year. I fell in love with a serious skier. I'm leaving my job of 10 years (and my community), moving to Vermont so we can be together, and cutting my work week to 3 - 4 days, so I can ski. I have a new job up there, which I have already started, and my house goes on the market October 1. I rented an apartment and we are hoping to build a house together.

I would never in my life have described myself as a risk taker. Period. So, wow!
 

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