Playing With It

After weeks of next to no local snow, cross-country skiing went from non-existent to excellent last week with the sudden and overdue return of snow and cold. I took full advantage of the good conditions, but with little cross-country skiing under my belt, I struggled on the longer and more challenging trails. My first instinct was to focus on good technique. This helped some but not enough. So I tried a different tack. Remembering I ski to have fun, I stopped trying to ski better and started playing around. I played with moving from ski to ski quickly. I stayed on each ski longer. I stood taller on each ski, then stayed low. I tried short quick pole pushes then played with long, powerful ones.

I kept doing what was fun and quit doing what wasn’t. As trail and snow conditions changed, I played with new things when what was fun wasn’t anymore. Playing around helped me find new ways and remember old ones of adapting to current conditions. The result? More learning and more fun than relying on techniques learned in the past. When you’re not having fun in some aspect of your life, try accessing your inborn operating system for learning and problem solving by playing with whatever's vexing you. You might be surprised how much fun it is to flip from fretting over it to playing with it! If you'd like a partner to play with to transform whatever's causing you pain into new possibilities, schedule time to talk here.

Thanks to everyone who has written to say they read and appreciate these weekly reflections, and please keep those cards and letters coming!