Time for tuning those skis!

As I do every year, last week was ski tune-up time. I had four pairs of skis to work on. My wife and daughter’s and mine. I spread the work over 3 to 4 days and it was both efficient and enjoyable. 

Enjoyable ? Yes I adore doing that work. It makes me reflect upon the rocks and sharp objects we skied over during the season, either because we didn’t see them or were too lazy or unskilled to avoid them. 

Every skier should make a point to work on their own skis, at least once in their lifetime, to fully appreciate their respective levels of recklessness or lack of attention. If you carefully observe the video, I’m highly concentrating on the job. 

I don’t smile and while I’m listening to a podcast, I remain fixated on what I’m doing the whole time. Filing metal is a skill I learned in high school, when I was young, that I’ll probably still master until my last days, and hopefully many more ski seasons to come! 

What to do now that Trump has full power?

Following two weeks of mourning, despair and hand-wringing about the outcome of the US Presidential Election, it’s certainly a bad idea to start haphazardly on one random path. Instead, it might be time to ask questions like “What’s next” and “What workable options are there?” 

We have in fact many choices. 

• One is to do nothing, be just a spectator and watch the destruction of the American institutions at the hand of a disruptor who has no idea about his own end-game. 
• Another is to be angry and resentful for at least four years and self-destroy ourselves in the process. 
• A third is to find an actionable way that will make a difference, no matter how small or large, and will end up adding to similar efforts by others and account for some positive influence. 

By far, the latter approach seems preferable to me and I want to explore it fully. 

It will take some sorting out, a lot of creativity and, why not, might end up making a huge difference, even if it seems insignificant at the moment. Stay tuned!

When cars look the same…

Last week, we stopped by the library and its parking lot was full, except for one spot available in its EV charging area, so I pulled into that space, got my special Tesla adapter, connected my it to my car and we went into the library building where I was looking for a book I needed for my Spanish study. 

About 15 to 20 minutes later, my wife and I came out and walked to our car, I unplugged it, made sure I removed and kept the adapter (I once forgot to do that) and both of us opened the doors of what we thought was our automobile. 

What I saw was a guy sleeping in front seat and my wife saw a dirty interior, as well as the slumbering driver on the other side, I instantly realized that I missed my car that was next to the one I wanted to enter! We shut the doors close, the man who didn’t appear to wake up didn’t say a thing. 

There were three Tesla, same model, same color, side by side, with no front license plates... I immediately unplugged the car that wasn’t mine, then ours, and was left with two adapters in hand, so I realized that I had to re-plug his car, which I quickly did. At long last, we finally got into the right auto and we left...

Switching pain into knowledge

For a few years now, I’ve been looking at pain, hardship, difficulties, anguish and always searching for ways to turn these negative elements into positive outcomes, like knowledge and other assets that add to my personal growth. 

I have found, like many other people, that adversity can be a powerful catalyst for change and development. For one thing, I value my mistakes and never miss an opportunity not just to learn from them but to remember them. 

Mistakes and failures never fail to provide valuable lessons and insights. I’ve also found that the simple fact to overcoming challenges will strengthen my resilience and my ability to cope with future adversity. At the same time it acts as a fabulous switch turning a negative outlook into a positive one. It’s also true that experiencing hardship has helped me develop empathy for others who are going through similar difficulties.

Then, through tough times, I’ve gotten a deeper understanding of life's complexities and developed a more compassionate and understanding perspective. Will it mean that adversity can open us the doors to discovering a deeper sense of purpose and meaning in life? I don’t know for sure but it might. 

All these benefits are why I always make the necessary efforts to look at challenges like hidden treasures, with a growth mindset and a willingness to learn. By re-framing difficult experiences into opportunities for growth, I feel that I come out stronger and much more resilient.

“Forced out” of retirement?

When I heard that Lindsey Vonn was returning to ski racing at the age of 40, I thought to myself, “Her post-career plans didn’t pan out and she is now forced to come back to racing in order to maintain her lifestyle and celebrity status!” 

I might not be far from the truth, as Vonn was clearly eyeing a Hollywood career upon her stopping ski racing, but this didn’t pan out. Same thing for Hischer who thought he could prolong his lifestyle by entering the ski equipment activity with a splash, but soon found out that he needed Red Bull’s deep pockets to make it, and realized that manufacturing and selling skis isn’t a path immediately paved with gold.

These recent developments show that one can be a top ski athlete and enjoy some good earning for a while, but the post-career options aren’t that great or diverse, unlike they often are for widely accepted and followed sports like gymnastics or swimming. 

Worldwide, alpine skiing remains a micro-business with seemingly global dimensions, yet not enough appeal and horsepower to reach an equivalent celebrity status. I still wish Lindsey the very best!

Coming of age to be my very own (Part 2)

Today, we’ll explore how we can overcome the challenges we discussed in the previous blog and begin to embrace our true selves. 

As years pass, being less professionally involved frees more time to practice self-awareness and in the process better understand our thoughts, feelings, and values. Advancing in age also often challenges our self-limiting beliefs and stands as a great opportunity to learn how to replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations.

More importantly, we are less pressured to please others or follow their directions, especially when we don’t approve of them. That allows us to step back, examine the proposition in front of us and reject it sine die if it doesn’t line up with our values or our goals.This often leads the way to setting boundaries and giving us permission to just say no and prioritize your needs… 

This said becoming our own person and who we truly were meant to be doesn’t mean becoming a misanthrope or an unsociable character. On the contrary, it’s also a great opportunity to embrace our vulnerabilities when we share our true feelings and experiences with others. Finally, this realization opens the door to cultivating self-compassion, by starting to be kind to ourselves and avoiding self-criticism at every occasion ... 

If you haven’t begun already, work at taking these steps, and good luck in recovering your authentic self !

Coming of age to be my very own (Part 1)

These days, after years of self-doubt, hesitations and uncertainty, I finally feel good and able to be my own man. Why is it such a big deal for me? Why is it so hard to truly become our own person? Well, it’s complicated as the challenge of being our true selves stems from a complex interplay of societal expectations, self-doubt, and fear of judgment. 

Here is a sample of the obstacles I had to navigate. First, there were all the societal pressures from my Catholic religion to my parents’ simple culture that drilled on me certain norms and expectations which didn’t go well with my ebullient little personality. Then, I was told to “please” as I was waiting on tables at the family restaurant or teaching skiing, that placed a brake on my development. 

Same thing when I was in school and had to change establishments, then get into the workforce, before becoming a “minority” of sort in America (limited command of the language, strong accent), there was the need even more than the desire to fit within with my peer group that often lead me to silence or subdue my authentic self or should I rather say my full self-confidence. 

At the same time and for the same reasons, I also didn’t want to be judged or criticized by others, and for that, I compromised more than once when I had to. There was also the fear of not meeting expectations first, from my parents, then some of my teachers and then my bosses, co-workers or employees that often lead to self-doubt, negative self-talk and a reluctance to take risks. 

Like for many of my peers, the fear of the unknown made me, at times, prefer the comfort of the familiar, even if it meant sacrificing my authenticity and prevented me from taking big chances and embracing change. As you can see, there were many hurdles along my way and tomorrow we’ll review how I dealt with all these obstacles… 

(To be continued...)