Happiness Tip From The Ski Slopes
Learning to be in the FLOW on the ski slopes.
When I was learning how to ski, it was terrifying. We were in the magnificent mountains of Colorado. My then husband and everyone else in our group were already excellent skiers. I had never skied in my life.
Fear can grip the living daylights out of you…and it surely did during this trip. We were only there for a few days, and as beautiful as it was, I spent the entire trip worrying and fearful.
Because they knew what they were doing, they kept taking me on hills that were way too steep for me. And I remember one day when we got to the front of the line there were signs that said “ADVANCED skiers ONLY”. Pure panic attack. As much as those in my group assured me they could get me down safely, I was not happy.
My husband smartly got me a ski instructor right after that. I never got the hang of it on that trip, and was never happier to hop on the plane home. The next few times we went skiing it was when we had kids. Again, I got a ski instructor, and became less terrified, but I cannot say I enjoyed it much.
One day, however, it was as though a light bulb finally went off in my head. I had learned that to safely go down a steeper hill, I had to traverse the hill. I had to go from one side to the other, which was fine until that moment when I had to turn and face down the hill in order to make the turn.
I would speed up as I moved across the hill and the moment I knew I had to turn, I would slow down. And therein lay the problem. Imagine you are on skis and turn to face directly down the hill at a very slow pace. What happens is you start heading straight down the hill and gravity pulls you faster and faster toward the bottom of the hill.
This kept happening to me until one day I realized that I actually had to suspend my fear and SPEED UP in order to make the turn. Once I figured this out, I loved it! My fear had kept me from safety. My fear had actually made me less safe. Letting go of my “grip” and allowing myself to FLOW, allowed me to have fun AND be safe.
As I have been studying the science of happiness it occurred to me that this is a fantastic analogy for life. When we are gripped with fear and our amygdala (fight or flight part of our brain) takes charge, we cannot think rationally. Logic and reason leave us, and we go into reaction mode.
What I learned on the ski slope is true in life: that when we are more in the flow, we have more fun, are more creative, are more fun, can be more helpful and productive, can find solutions to problems and so much more.
The science of happiness and positive psychology has revolutionized how we think about mental health. That is why I LOVE what I do. Help people learn to live more in the FLOW!
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