“When thinking won’t cure fear, action will.” – William Clement Stone

I’m in Vermont for a ski weekend with my husband and his family. They are all avid skiers but alas, I am not. When he and I were first dating he tried to teach me. I could never get passed the fear of sliding. This sliding is a very necessary part of skiing. There is no point in being on the skis if you are not going to use them to slide down the hill. He and his kids and grandkids all love that going fast sensation. For me, it causes a tremendous amount of stress.
It’s not a matter of physical conditioning. I am fairly physically fit and could likely learn the mechanics if I so desired. It may simply have to do with being at an age that learning new things like this takes more guts than I have. Personally, I’ve know for a long time that I don’t like going fast if I don’t feel secure. For instance – I love roller coasters – but I know I am securely buckled in. I’ve always hated slides – because I don’t like that rapid sensation without the secure feeling.
Long story short, I decided this week I would try cross country skiing. I figured the slower pace of that I could handle. Turns out you still have to be able to maneuver going downhill. I’ve been looking for ways to get over this fear. The more I look – the more I realize that I’ll need to just do it. Now I just need to convince myself – it’s worth getting over the fear – so I will just do it.

Advertisement