Life lessons from the slopes

 sneak peak: I went skiing and came back with 10 shiny pearls of wisdom about life

wavier garms than mine

I went skiing last week (AMAZING quite sad to be back honestly) and you bet I'm milking it for at least one blog post. Here are some life lessons we can take from the shoop shoop shooping!

1. It's about the journey...
...Not the destination. Obviously, it's important that you do actually make it to the destination, but the point of it is for the journey. You want to enjoy the ride, improve throughout the course of it, and then feel good about it once you do reach the end. The point is not to rush through blindly, but to make the most of where you are. Skiing is not a means to an end, but an end in itself. It's the same for life.

2. Wear suncream

Self explanatory. SPF50 every day, no less, no exceptions, et voilà - no wrinkles!

3. Always be learning

There is something wonderful about starting from the very beginning, being bad at something, listening to people who know more about it than you do, putting in the work, and seeing real improvements. Why then, in other areas of our lives, do we expect to be able to just ~get it~ straight away? Constant learning is good for our brains and our lives, and it's freeing and fun to force yourself to be a beginner at things again.

4. Don't run before you can walk

Or, to translate, don't black run before you can blue run. Know your limits, and push yourself of course, but don't be an idiot about it or you may end up flat on your face with snow inside your gloves and your skis halfway down the mountain without you on them. Not sure what the 'real life' parallel is for that one, but you get the gist.

5. Sideways moves can be the way forward

Ooh, mysterious... What I mean is this: on a mountain, you can stand at the top, look down and go "Oh balls, it's really steep, HELP, I have no idea how to make any progress here, where do I even start." You can do the same in another area of life: your career! Except you're at the bottom, looking up (or, you know, part way up, who knows, I don't know you).

So, when you lie in bed having a minor existential panic about what you're going to do for the next 50 years and how you will ever afford that stunning but as yet imaginary period mansion with countless original features in a yet-to-be-determined location, cast your mind back to this blog post.

Sideways moves. Don't know what to do? Go sidey ways. Traverse down the mountain; capitalise on sideways moves in your career. Skiing down a steep slope, this slows you down so you don't career (ha ha) off into oblivion; after a while, you might feel ready to face the slope head on (...might). Going *up* a steep metaphorical slope (your career - are you still with me?), sideways moves can stop you stagnating, keep you progressing and broaden your experience until you're ready for a direct upwards move.

6. What goes up must come down

It's gravity, baby.

7. Sleep tight

You can only function properly if you are rested; the snow will remind you of this fact. Get good sleep. (And apparently we should be making ABSOLUTELY sure we breathe through our nose while we sleep too... intrigued.)

8. The early bird gets the worm

Vague, but generally applicable. The snow is best if you're first on the run. In life, it's good to be early - or at least prompt.

9. Make hay while the sun shines

Or rather, make the most of the snow while the visibility is good. Relish the sunny, freshly-fallen powder days because there will most certainly be foggy, horizontal wind, can't see anything days to follow. Try to make the best of all types of days, if you can.

10. Socks galore

Okay, less of a life lesson, but still - spare socks always come in handy (footy). Everyone (including me) always packs too many pants (why do we do this?) which end up being totally pointless; extra socks are a better idea. Will they get wet? Will they get a hole in them? Will you remember that one of the pairs you packed has been stained bright yellow forever because you accidentally spilled a turmeric-rich curry sauce on them recently and then promptly forgot? Will you realise you actually need to wear two pairs with that particular pair of shoes you brought because they're a tiny bit big and uncomfortable? Will you need to use a pair as makeshift padding because ski boots are not built for comfort and your shins are extremely unhappy with you? Who knows - maybe they'll just take up space. Or maybe it will be all of the above. Only time will tell.

Enjoy your newly enlightened life! And wear your suncream. And all your socks.