Behind a successful performance may hide a disillusioned skier because self-demand constrains the enjoyment of skiing until it becomes a downhill subsistence. There are those who don’t rest because they feel they are wasting their time if they do. If they make a mistake, they punish and criticize themselves because it deviates them from the perfection they seek. Although at certain times one must strive to overcome present situations, this does not imply being constantly preoccupied with achieving the utopia of excellence.
One aspect of self-demand is the constant pursuit of perfection. Perfection is an addiction based on a kind of control that we need to value ourselves in front of others. We may have the belief that if we are not perfect, others will not value us as a person, so by being blameless we exert control over others’ attention to ourselves.
Over time, striving for perfection exhausts and dilutes the desire to enjoy skiing. If we are self-demanding skiers, we may believe that in the pursuit of perfection we find happiness, but this often has the opposite effect because we stop taking on new challenges for fear of not achieving perfection. We run the risk of falling into the belief that if we do not do what is perfect, we will experience the disapproval that makes it impossible to achieve what we desire.
In reality, striving for perfection is skiing for the best possible performance, the best achievable result. It is to pursue an external achievement by valuing our own attributes. Here we could ask ourselves if the perfect descent exists or if it is a utopia. We can be constantly searching for it, but skiing should be much more than chasing after perfection by wasting energy on self-demand.
Self-improvement
The drive for self-improvement is evolutionarily related to survival, which is present in childhood and is easily observed in children’s games. It is linked to the level of self-esteem insofar as it is favored by it. A reduced level of self-improvement tends to exclude us from group activities, generating feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem.
It is considered that self-improvement acts on the psychic principle that regulates pleasure. Both winning a competition and descending a demanding slope provide pleasure through self-improvement. This principle is activated each time we reach a personal achievement, which allows us to gradually recognize our own abilities which collaborate with our evolution.
The tendency to strive for the superior or the outstanding is a stimulus that every one of us should attempt for in enjoyable skiing. But sometimes, the pursuit of the outstanding is linked to the ‘more’: we ski faster, steeper, and jump higher to produce more pleasure. It seems that, for some, achieving that ‘more’ is what generates the fullness of skiing.
Self-realization
Among the various aspects studied by psychology are our personal needs and how they are satisfied. A need indicates a lack of satisfaction in some aspect and provokes a certain behavior on us to reduce or eliminate the dissatisfaction produced by generating motivations but, in certain occasions, we cannot satisfy our needs. A beginner who follows a certain learning method, even if he has made some progress, may find himself permanently dissatisfied with what he has achieved. A mediocre skier may never satisfy his need for achievement. An aggressive and disruptive athlete may be prevented from satisfying his need for companionship or group integration.
The need for self-fulfillment is about the reward for the feeling of having used one’s abilities in doing an activity. According to Abraham Maslow, it is the tendency to become all that we are capable of becoming. We can achieve self-fulfillment by performing well both down a beginner slope or a demanding off-piste.
The self-realized skier is one who motivates himself to grow and develop his own talents, rather than acting in ways to compensate for deficiencies.
Four situations are considered in which we self-actualize when skiing:
- By raising our own standards, we demand more of ourselves and expect greater rewards for the skiing we do.
- By attempting to give continuity to our improvement through lessons, specialized reading, or constant practice in what we lack improvement.
- By increasing our understanding of ourselves and becoming the skier we want to be.
- By making maximum use of our own abilities and trying to develop new ones.
The self-realized skier
(Adapted from A. Maslow)
The self-realized skier differs from others in the following aspects:
- Superior perception of reality: he lacks prejudices that force him to reinterpret the context to suit his own characteristics.
- Greater self-acceptance: he is consistently self-critical, knows how to forgive his own mistakes and avoids criticizing others.
- Greater spontaneity: he can adopt a relaxed demeanor without worrying unnecessarily about what others think of him.
- Greater ability to focus on problems: by not worrying about personal problems and satisfying his own needs, he can concentrate on the obstacles of the actual skiing.
- Greater ability to ski alone: he enjoys the privacy to concentrate on his personal skiing.
- Greater autonomy: he is resistant to social pressures.
- Greater appreciation of reality: can enjoy new experiences but also knows how to recognize different stimuli when skiing down familiar slopes.
- Increased frequency of flow experiences: experiences frequent flow states where his skiing is so absorbing that he loses track of time.
- Sense of humor: exhibits a subtle sense of humor devoid of hostility. Likes to laugh with others but not at them.
- Decision-making ability: makes decisions based on his own goals, not on his circumstantial needs or anxieties, accepting responsibility for doing so and facing the consequences.
- Increased goal orientation: his behavior is not aimless or haphazard.
- Adequate flexibility: he does not bow to the pressures of the situation, but is willing to consider modifying his behavior when circumstances change.
