Start Falling On Your Ass
When I was 6 years old, my mom dropped me off at the base of Powder Mountain and said “have fun, I’ll see you tonight.” i am Gen X, we learned to be self-sufficient at a very young age.
My ski instructor taught me some of the basics and soon enough i was snow plowing down the bunny hill like an old pro. After one exceptionally fantastic run, I made it to the bottom of the hill with a huge smile on my face, expecting to see the same matching smile on my instructor’s face. Instead of a smile, there was a worried look and a lesson. “Jason, if you want to become an amazing skier, you are going to have to start falling down.”
No one. Let me repeat. NO ONE, plays at the top of their game without first making a lot of mistakes and falling on their ass many, many times. If you aren’t falling down, you aren’t pushing yourself hard enough. If you aren’t falling down, you are not stepping outside your comfort zone. If you aren’t falling down, you aren’t progressing.
Start falling on your ass. Don’t beat yourself up for it, celebrate it. If you are surrounded by friends or colleagues who like to belittle you, beat you up, or treat you as a child for your mistakes, then do what you can to remove them from your life. They are the kids who sit at the base of the mountain mocking you for falling down, yet are nowhere to be seen when you successfully navigate your first double black diamond.
