What skiing and Bunny’s Elbow taught me about reaching my goals

I have dabbled with skiing since high school. I love the idea of being a skier and spending time outside in the winter. I also have an intense fear of heights and going fast down high things. Not a good combination! I gave up the sport until I met my husband. He loves to ski and wanted to teach our kids how to ski.  I love to spend time with him and my kids. So, this year I skied.

Now, I had remembered some stuff from our last ski trip ten years ago. I remembered how to turn, sort of. You see, I never really understood the mechanics of turning. I knew that I had to put my weight on one leg, but I could never get my back leg to come with it. It would always drag a little bit. And because it would drag, I couldn’t turn as quickly as I wanted. And the steeper the slope, the more nervous I was about turning and the more my back leg would drag. I stayed on the beginner and easy, intermediate trails, so it wasn’t much of a problem. Until Bunny’s Elbow. 

Bunny’s Elbow is an intermediate trail at Big Boulder Ski Resort in Pennsylvania. It was clearly something I could do. I mean, who would name a death trap trail Bunny’s Elbow?. So what happened? Well, in all fairness, it was not that bad of a trail, but it was narrow. That made me nervous about my turning, which caused my leg to drag even more, which caused me to fall. Usually, falling is not a big deal except that it was on a steeper part, my ski fell off, I couldn’t get it back on, and my kids were already halfway down the trail. By the time I got down the trail, I was mentally and physically DONE for the day. 

When I woke up the next morning, I knew  I had to make a choice. I could either learn how to ski or skip the family ski days and miss out on some potential fun. I love fun and didn’t want to experience FOMO, so I did what every human in 2022 does when they want to learn something. I googled it. What I found out is that, yes, you do have to put your weight onto one foot, but you also have to slightly lift up the other foot. And you also have to let yourself pick up a little speed in order to make the turns. If you keep turning to a stop you never build up the momentum to make efficient turns.

What does all this have to do with life and reaching my goals?

1. You have to lean into your why.

Just like you have to intentionally put weight onto one leg to turn in skiing, you have to deliberately create and lean into your why in order to reach your goals or accomplish your dreams. 

When I was creating my plan to get to my healthy body weight, I knew  I needed to have good reasons that would help me when I just didn’t feel like it. Some of the thoughts I leaned into were: I want to look good. I want to go to my closet and fit into all of my clothes. I want to feel fit and healthy. I want to have a strong connection with my body. You get the idea. 

What are the thoughts you will need to lean into when things get tough? What are the thoughts that are going to move you in the right direction? 

2. You have to let go of old thoughts to move forward.

In skiing, you need to slightly lift up your back leg in order to turn. In life, you need to let go of thoughts that have stopped you in the past. These are thoughts that might seem like they are keeping you safe but, in reality, are preventing you from turning. Remember Bunny’s Elbow. If you can’t turn, you crash. 

Thoughts that I needed to let go of for my plan to my healthy body weight were: There are good foods and bad foods. I am good or bad, depending on what I eat. I don’t know how. I’m am not a naturally thin person. 

What thoughts are holding you back from your goals and dreams? Can you lift up a little and let them go?

3. You have to let yourself be a little scared in order to pick up the speed to move forward.

This is when things start to go in the right direction. You are picking up momentum. And then something happens to freak you out. You decide that it can’t work, you can’t keep it up, or you are bound to fail. 

Well, guess what? That is totally normal. Our brains want to keep us safe and here you are gaining speed and going fast. Your brain is freaking out and looking for ways to slow you down and bring you back to your comfort zone. 

I have found when this happens, arguing with my brain does not help. It will come up with all the reasons why I should slow down. Instead, I use the “yes and” technique. Yes, this is scary and I’m still going to go for it. Yes, I might fail and I will learn how to do it better the next time. 

The key is not to stop being afraid. The key is to say yes to the fear and do it anyway.

Starting in April, I will be launching my three-month group coaching program. In it, I will teach you the tools and mindset shifts that will get you to your healthy, natural weight. Sign up to our mailing list to get notified when enrollment opens.

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