How to Be More Creative: In Life and on Skis

 Creativity is the heart of skiing. Image: Youtube.com

Three ways to harness creativity based off of neurological research by Dr. David Eagleman, a

neuroscientist and New York Times bestselling author:

Dr. David Eagleman. Image: The Daily Beast

1. Try new things
2. Push boundaries
3. Don't be afraid of failure

Buttering is a good way to add a little spice to your life. Image: Newschoolers

Trying new things increases the connections between neurons in your brain and provides perspective, according to studies done by Eagleman. Now apply this to your skiing. Feel like you're constantly hitting the same lines and tricks, or that your abilities are plateauing? Try something new or something different. Dabble with some butters. How about a tree tap? Ooh, maybe a spin to go with it. The more you try on the hill the more you will learn and the better skier you will become.

Skiers like Cody Townsend are constantly pushing their boundaries and constantly improving their skiing ability. Image: The Colorado Sun

Pushing boundaries will take you out of your comfort zone and into the creative space. Uncomfortable situations are just situations you are not used to and can be learned from. See a line or cliff band that you know would be fun to send, but it's slightly above your skill level? Does just thinking about it kind of make your stomach turn? Oh yeah, then that's how you know it's real. Hit it.


If at first you don't succeed, try again. Image: Snowbrains

We tend to run from failure but it is trial and error that provides us with the best learning experiences. Failure will actually come to our aid in the creative process. Don't be afraid to try new tricks. And when you fall, get back up and just keep trying until you stomp that sucker.

We live in an age of unparalleled human creativity. There's no telling what the world will look like twenty years from now, let alone the ski game. Just a couple decades ago we didn't even have powder skis and the biggest trick around was a switch 540, which it stayed for years before creative geniuses like Shane McConkey arrived on the scene. Now, look where the industry is.

Now, we have people like Henrik Harlaut doing butter-triples and little kids sending big Alaskan spines that no one would have even dreamed of hitting not that long ago. And as our technological capabilities as humans continue to advance, we don't even have names for the jobs we have yet to create.

So as we enter the rapidly changing future with limitless creative potential, how will you contribute? How far will you take your skiing ability?

E'dollo - creativity guru. Image: Newschoolers