Why it’s important to get my ass kicked from time to time

TLDR: “Pressure and discomfort are necessary to push past limitations”

I just spent the long weekend up in Tahoe where I got a chance to snowboard for the first time in a few years. Several feet of fresh snow had just been dumped there by the storms during the previous week or two, and I was eager to get out there and start carving up the powder.

I went down within the first 30 seconds of my first run.

I had never experienced powder that deep before, and I was struggling to get back up. Every time I tried to push off my arms would get stuck past my elbow. Almost sprained it a few times just trying to get up unsuccessfully.

And that wasn’t the first time I got stuck either. I kept diving in head first into the powder all day long. I lost my brother on the first run because I kept going slower than him. I was struggling with my bindings, and my boots were hanging way too far forward. I even had a different boot on each foot, which was just a huge rookie mistake.

I think the low point came when I was going off a trail and I took a head first plunge into powder and lost the Go Pro that was attached to my head. I spent probably 30+ minutes on all fours searching for the damn thing up and down in several feet of powder. I was cold, wet, frustrated, and exhausted. I couldn’t remember where I went down so I searched way further than I needed to. I guess all the hits to the head made me forgetful.

Eventually I found it buried 2 feet away from where I had left my board.

But that wasn’t the end of my struggles for the day.

On my last ride down the slope, on a green run, surrounded by 7 year olds, I clipped something and took the nastiest fall of the day. I sprained my wrist, hurt my neck and tore my shirt. I wasn’t even embarrassed at that point.

While I was lying there in pain I actually laughed at the absurdity of the situation and at how badly the day had gone. It was super rough on my body and mind.

But for some reason I decided to try to cast it all in a positive light. I was glad that I had put the effort into doing an activity I hadn’t done in a long time. I was glad that I was able to persist and make the most of the day without getting to severely injured. And I was glad that I had tested my limits.

When I came away from the day I focused on making sure the second day went a lot more smoothly. I got more rest. I found a screwdriver, did some research, and readjusted my bindings to a new, more stable configuration. I bought some wrist guards. I waxed the bottom of my board. And of course, I made sure I was wearing the same boots this time.

It took time and effort but I learned some valuable skills in the process. And I tested myself. I pushed myself beyond my comfort zone.

I had a much better second day where I was able to go a lot faster, do more tricks, take fewer falls and just generally ride a lot more smoothly.

Selective pressure, in a broad sense, is the driving force behind evolution.

If a species lives in an environment where it has to be a lot faster, stronger, taller, or smarter to survive, over time that species will evolve and adapt to that environment. The stronger the evolutionary pressure, the more quickly that species will evolve.

In fact, there’s a hypothesis that some amount of disturbance is actually beneficial to ecosystems. Something catastrophic, like an asteroid strike, is too damaging, but no pressure at all, like living on a remote island in the Pacific, does not promote any kind of evolution. Somewhere in the middle is where life thrives.

It seems like life itself needs to be tested on a continuous basis for it to stay healthy and strong. And if that happens at the species level, it’s no surprise that it applies at an individual level too. Learning a new subject, building muscle, playing an instrument, practicing a new sport. They all require pushing past the comfort zone and testing the limits of what is possible.

Which is why I enjoyed the weekend in the mountains. I got to do some crazing things like go swimming in the lake and make snow angels in my swim trunks. I got to test my own limits and remind myself that they exist.

I was reminded of how easy I have it most of the time and of what it’s like to experience some physical discomfort. It’s a philosophy I want to put into practice more going forward. And I don’t mean that just in a fun way. I think it applies in terms of work ethic, creating meaningful things, helping others by experiencing their struggles, confronting difficult truths about myself and the world.

Because oddly enough, nothing makes me feel more alive than the discomfort of pushing my own limits.