The process of behavioral change begins with our intellectualization of what we wish to change in our skiing, then follows the emotional internalization of the experience of the imagined change and, finally, we arrive at the implementation, that is, the behavioral transformation. Change is rationalized, internalized, and acted upon.
In the transformation of our skiing in increasingly difficult situations for our level, we are promoting the expansion of our technical and psycho-affective limits. It is preferable to practice in a challenging situation by our own decision than to face one without previous preparation since the emotional factor (fear, anxiety, nervous tension) exceeds our own control, because the situation may evolve into a negative experience. If every day, by choice, we confront small and gradually more complex situations, we will feel more confident in overcoming them by developing know-how.
The well-being generated by a change is not so much related to what happens to us but to being in harmony with ourselves and the environment recognizing and accepting the situations that arise, consciously registering them as a natural part of skiing itself. During the process of change it is appropriate to focus on our personal improvements rather than on concrete results.
Skiing is simple if appropriate performance behaviors are adopted but it can also be complicated if ineffective ones are insisted upon. To really begin a process of change requires decisive action. It seems that we remain waiting for the environment to adapt to our needs without accepting the conditions as they really are: changing, then, as we are not used to them, we do not change.
Before making a decision to change our skiing, we pass through the following phases:
- In objection we ask ourselves whether the change will work for us, whether it will be positive, or whether it will serve us.
- In the phase of lack of awareness, we expose our desire not to take charge of the change.
- In exploration we question the benefits of a change.
- Finally, in acceptance we come to the conclusion of the advantages of the change.
Going through the first three phases takes a certain amount of time because we have to face our own resistance, which is completely natural.
The comfort zone
It is difficult to undertake better habits because they generate uncertainty given they are behaviors that are outside our comfort zone. What is unfamiliar is not comfortable but the point is that incorporating a new skiing habit occurs outside this zone. The process of change is to move from comfort to discomfort to reach a new and a better comfort and to do so, instead of using a definition such as “I have to change my skiing”, we can apply an “I can keep learning”.
It is not always easy to know how to choose what is best for ourselves. Staying in our comfort zone will not make outstanding things happen but gradually pushing our limits encourages moving out of that place. Exploring new sensations collaborates with our own complacency in achieving each small goal. On the other hand, having too many expectations leads us to disillusionment if we do not achieve the proposed goals in a certain amount of time. One aspect for which it is common to stop trying to change is setting goals that are too demanding.
The vicious circle of not leaving our comfort zone to experience a change in our skiing can be summarized in that, because we are afraid we don’t try, so we don’t notice the difference and this is because we are still in our comfort zone. The change that is sought is found outside our comfort zone, therefore, to get out of it and start the path of a behavioral modification it is necessary to define the goal and go there, reaching self-sustainable results through moderately achievable objectives: neither too easy nor too difficult.
Leaving our comfort zone breaks the present balance that goes through a momentary imbalance, that is, a period of confusion that is located between the previous and the new to be assimilated causing displeasure. Experiencing a behavioral change generates this moment because our executions do not turn out as they should be felt, triggering a persecutory interpretation such as not being competent, but changing is equivalent to making mistakes and, if there is a predisposition, we have to accept that there will be moments of confusion. These periods provoke emotional impulses of a certain magnitude that will induce the tendency to abandon the initiated change.
Procrastination interferes with the process of behavioral modification
Procrastination is putting off the tasks of the present by substituting them for more pleasant chores. It is a very common habit that generates unproductivity which translates into an impulse that is difficult to reject and prevents us from achieving what we set out to do. It is a blocking mental mechanism that we cannot overcome. We know what we have to do and how to do it but we cannot move forward.
We suffer constant discomfort for not doing what we have to do, so the tasks to be changed are left pending. We prefer to descend an entertaining slope and have a good time even if we do not fully enjoy it because we understand that wehave a commitment with ourselves to practice what we want to improve. The unfinished task causes us a certain anxiety and general tension that disappears when we complete it.
Procrastination is one of the problems that we encounter when deciding on a change process since we easily fall into continuous procrastination, especially if the task to be initiated includes effort. The drawback is the negative effect of procrastination, turning into regret for the action not initiated. Procrastinating generates a certain tension and the uncomfortable thing is the feeling of heaviness that comes from not doing what we wanted to do.
In reality, everyone has a certain degree of procrastination that leads to postponement because the fact of doing something that is not pleasing enough does not produce satisfaction but it does when it is finished, even more so knowing that it is for our own benefit. Dedicating a certain amount of time per day to practice that collaborates in changing our skiing reduces procrastination.
It is not that, if we are procrastinating skiers, we are indolent or lack ambition for our own skiing. If we are indolent skiers, we accept not practicing and do not torture ourselves by not doing so. For us, pleasure comes first and we enjoy it without imposing obligations that interfere with it. If we have no ambitions and do not seek to improve our skiing, the same thing happens to us: we avoid the effort because do not seek to change, tolerating the inefficiency of our behaviors without questioning and bear them calmly.
On the other hand, if we are suffering from procrastination, we are aware of our ambition to improve, of our desire to progress but find it impossible to achieve our goals, choosing immediate pleasure and are incapable of abandoning it and thus procrastinate on our duties.
We may not need external motivations to improve. We know that we need a change in our skiing and initiate it proactively under the guidelines of what it ‘should be’. But at initiating a change, we should be responsible for maintaining it, and organizing ourselves by renouncing other immediate desires is a difficult feat to accomplish.
The Freudian theory of how the human mind works relates to procrastination as follows. The Id, as the pleasure principle, directly influences our behavior by forcing us to seek pleasure before anything else so we will prioritize a good run in deep snow before practicing the technique for that type of snow. The Self, as the reality principle, demands from the Id that before going down the slope that gives pleasure, the appropriate technique must be practiced. The Superself, as the corrective principle, demands from the Id that not practicing, that is, not doing the ‘homework’ or ‘task’ before the pleasure, will make us to feel guilty.
In conclusion,procrastination translates as an ‘urgency effect’ in which our tendency is to give priority to immediate satisfaction over medium or long-term gratifications or, in other words, to immediately experience the rewards and leave for later the costs of not having done what should have been done.
