I’ve tried snowboarding a handful of times, and never quite got the hang of it. I didn’t enjoy the process because I would get SO frustrated constantly falling and felt like I couldn’t connect my body with what my mind was telling it to do. 

Every time I would stand up, I would fall. When I could finally stand and move forward, I would try to turn and fall again. The whole time, I was upset with myself that I “couldn’t get it.”

I got so frustrated that I couldn’t find the joy in teaching my mind and body something new. 

Fast forward a couple of years and I decided to try skiing. I was VERY purposeful going into it and had a LOT of conversations with myself. 😂I told myself that I had been working out and that my mind and spirit were in a much better place, but I still had anxiety that I would fall into old pessimistic and too-hard-on-myself habits. 

But… was I giving up if I didn’t give snowboarding another shot? 

I realized I wanted to have a new experience with snow sports, and truth be told, I had heard skiing was a bit easier to learn. So, I decided to start fresh and stopped the negative thoughts about “giving up” - I was still going to be learning something new - a new snow sport nonetheless - and reminded myself that I was still stepping out of my comfort zone into something I had no experience with. I told myself that “even if I don’t get it right the first time, that it’s okay.”  

I took time to be grateful for the fact that my body allows me to move. Stopping to think about what our bodies can do - is amazing! 

I even journaled about my gratefulness for getting the opportunity to try and learn something new, and I recognized that even if I wasn’t perfect at it (which - I wasn’t - and I certainly fell a handful of times, which started with skis, poles, and bodies flying in the air and ended in belly-aching laughter) - that the process of getting to move my body in a new way and experience new things was something to look forward to. 

I got out there – and it was SO.MUCH.FUN. I completely understand why people do it – aside from the physical aspect of it, being out in nature and breathing in pure air is so good for the soul. Forest bathing is so therapeutic. I stopped more than a handful of times to gawk at the appropriately named, Heavenly Mountain.

The trees, the lake, the freshly fallen snow – aside from the lifts and gondolas, this was all made by nature – and there is something really refreshing about stopping to look at the [literal] big picture.

And – I can’t wait to go again. I’m definitely still staying on the greens for awhile (except for one accidental blue run; see falling note earlier) but I am so excited to get out in the mountains and ski again. 

I left with a newfound love for skiing - and also, with the realization that stepping out of our comfort zones AND the way we talk ourselves up (or down) can make a huge difference.

This is something I’ve been actively working on – the whole changing the way we talk to ourselves thing – and I am so glad I made a conscious effort to step out of my comfort zone and do something new – because I know I will constantly be faced with new and uncomfortable experiences in life that challenge me, and approaching them with the right mindset can make all the difference in the world – or at least, between a bad experience and finding the joy in a new experience!