Is Your Brain the Problem?

I was skiing with my son at Sunday River Resort in Maine a few weeks ago, and we agreed to accompany two ski school kids on the lift (common practice with ski instructor-child ratios that are usually 4:1). During the lift ride, I was chatting with McKinley, a girl of eight or nine, when we saw a woman below us on the trail clearly struggling before she stumbled and fell. McKinley matter-of-factly observed “maybe it’s her brain that’s the problem.” 

I love the clarity of her observation. No judgment or ridicule: just a child’s unfiltered viewpoint about what gets in our way. I think we grow out of clarity as we get older. We add rationale, excuses, reasons why…and often it really is this simple. Our brains are the problem. We complicate our choices with fear, anxiety, and insecurity. We tell ourselves that we’ll try, but we keep our expectations of greatness low. That way we have an easy out. It’s not really a failure if you didn’t really go for it.

Later that day, my son Jackson snapped this incredible photograph of a young skier coming off a jump in one of the parks. A moment of really going for it. Not Olympic proportions by any means, but don’t tell that to this joyous creature reaching for the sky on a late February outing. Stretch, reach, achieve. No brain problems in this moment. BTW, she landed the jump.