Getting over a bad mood when skiing

[skifreak]

I find that I ski terribly when in a bad mood or frustrated. Poor skiing leads to a worse mood which causes worse skiing. It's a viscous cycle. Today on my last pass when I missed 4, I just threw the handle instead of skiing to the dock which didn't go over well with my husband. Does anybody have any tips for keeping a bad mood from affecting your set? How do you keep poor skiing from making you more frustrated? If I know i'm going to ski poorly because of my mood should I just walk away and save the frustration? It's hard when I know I can do so much better. 

[nam1975]

I go to the pond to relax, have fun, and hopefully ski well. Most of our club does the same. 

A shi*#y set is much better than being at work, on the couch, mowing the lawn, golfing or fishing!

 I don't always ski down the line...too easy to just count balls. 

We also goof around once in a while....ride my wife's shaped ski, just ski my opener set until I'm beat for exercise, that type of thing.

Good luck.

 

[Weappa]

I just ski easy passes - I always feel better after running 4 or 6 passes. 

[skifreak]

Yeah, it's definitely about fun and I do enjoy it (ok, maybe love it). I also completely agree that even my worst set is better than being at work. I don't get so frustrated every time I do poorly, just on occasion. I recognize when it's a problem, I just don't know how to break it.

[skifreak]

Weappa - I'll try that next time. I ran my first pass then struggled for 3 passes with the next speed - a pass I usually make 9 times out of 10. ARG!!

[HO 410]

First. For safety's sake, don't do anything stupid with the handle. Don't spike it. Don't try to throw it. If you're frustrated and done, just edge away from the wakes and let go of the handle like you would do at the end of a set. You don't need the handle bouncing up back at you or slack rope wrapping around a limb.

 

Second. I think it's okay to be frustrated. You don't ski back to the dock because you need some alone time. That's fine, just communicate that is what it's going to mean in the future. When you get back to the dock, it's over and your done being angry about the set. 

[lkb]

Skifreak, it's really hard to focus when I'm in a bad mood. From there it's easy to ski bad. Being focused is the key I think. BTW, I missed my opening pass three times at my last tournament weekend. It was tough to keep a brave face that weekend. Just have to soldier on sometimes.

[Ed_Obermeier]

Tequila.  3 or 4 shots usually does the trick...  /vanillaforum/js/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-tongue-out.gif

[Jean B]

Skiing is the best therapy there is out there. No matter how I feel, my first pull up out of the water makes me feel exhilarated and happy. Every thing happyened in the day or the past fades away into the back ground and all I do is think about skiing and what I need to do through the course.  AAAHHHHHH   sswwweeetttt.  I love skiing. SKiing makes me happy.

[D Wolters]

I'm with Ed,

Skied 2 @35 this weekend but it was really Sh**y Couple shots put it behind me

[Chef23]

I don't get pissed when I ski poorly in practice. I do get frustrated when I bite in tournaments like this weekend when I never got past 5 ball at 28 off. I am usually rant while I am on the water and am able to be over it by the time I get to the dock. I realize that being at the lake hanging out with my family and friends beats the snot out of working.

[Jim Neely]

What is a bad mood?

[rawly]

  Gratitude seems to usually get me out of those foul moods.We got it made.Like most people on this board,I think about skiing all week long,but I'm actually on the water for only a few hours at most.So I try to get rid of any negativities that will affect my skiing before I get to the dock.Meditation seems to work well for me.Things break,stuff goes wrong,deadlines need to be met,relationships,etc..Get yourself a lakeoneskier T-shirt and have fun out there.

[skifreak]

SHOTS! Why didn't I think of that?!

 

Jean B - totally agree, unless the driver happens to rip my arms out of my sockets with the first pull up. :-| 

 

I do know that I'm lucky to be doing this, spoiled actually. That's something I need to remember when I'm frustrated. Rawly - thanks for reminding me that I haven't done yoga in awhile, should probably work on that!

[Than_Bogan]

All the usual cliches do apply here: Reminding yourself how good you have it; better than being at work; etc.

But at the same time, part of what drives us all to become better skiers is that we DO care about how well we're skiing.  A LOT.

And that means that poor skiing will always lead to frustration, just as great skiing leads to euphoria.

So the first thing I'd say is: It's "normal."  Or at least normal within the context of slalom skiing, anyhow. /vanillaforum/js/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-smile.gif

As far as dealing with it, I have the most success if I remove all of my focus from buoy count, and focus purely on technique.  Stay at "easy" passes, and don't even worry about running them.  Just pick something you know you need to work on and focus completely on that.  This way, the worst case is that you get something valuable out of the set, which wouldn't happen if you just keep banging away at something hard and making the same mistakes.  And the best case is that by refocusing on technique, you ski yourself right out of your bad mood!

GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN!

[Than_Bogan]

Also, one more specific thought:  You might want to tell your boat crew that if you throw the handle [CAREFULLY!], don't come back for me and just let me swim (assuming your site allows that).  A little swim can sometimes calm the mind.  And your boat crew may be happier, too!

[jimbrake]

Whew! When I saw this post title I was afraid it was about me, because in a tournament yesterday I threw a little private s--- fit when I missed 35 AGAIN.

Oh, the answer to your question - I have no idea, but am voting for tequila. We're voting, right?

[lpskier]

Take the opportunity to work on some other factor that bears on your skiing. For example, it might be a good time to critique your spouse's driving skills and to offer constructive critizisms on how he or she might drive better. If you think you have been getting consistantly wrong sided, causing you to miss your passes, this is a good time to bring it up. Often times, the engine is load, so make sure to speak up so you  can be heard. Segue into other areas, such as bathroom hygiene, table manners , the amount of alcohol consumed the prior weekend, your mother in law, etc. The potential topics are endless. Get it off your chest, you'll feel better, and that set won't be wasted!

[Than_Bogan]

ouch - laughing pain

[Gern Blanston]

This topic is of particular interest to me because skiing is usually my therapy when I'm in a bad mood.  It's like the saying - a bad day skiing is still better than a good day at work.  Just this last weekend I got some bad news and wanted to ski it behind me.  This particular time, I was not able to do so much to my wife's dismay.

Generally speaking, I define happiness as wanting what you have.  I'm grateful that my wife and kids are happy and healthy.  We have jobs.  We're lucky enough to ski whenever we want (for the most part).  Yet just every so often, I'm determined to be in a pissy mood and it's much tougher than normal to put behind me.  So, it's "that @$$hole jet skier just ruined my water" or something similar.  I *know* what's important but just can't let go of the crap.  I can TOTALLY relate to swimming back to the dock.

 When I'm golfing like crap, I'll distract myself with looking for lost balls.  Sometimes with skiing, I'd rather drive or JAFO (just another....observer) to critique someone else's technique.  After sufficient time outside myself, I can take a few deep breaths and let it go.  Put on some good music and listen to that.  I have found that I can change my mood by initially picking something that matches my mood (i love Rancid when I'm PO'd) and slowly change the music to something more upbeat and positive make me in a better mood.

Hope that helps!

[Boody]

Lpskier, that is funny.

[MattP]

If only I could make it to the tournament this weekend...

[eleeski]

The best athletes always enjoy the training sets - even when the performance numbers are down. You need the hunger for performance and the associated frustrations, but even the worst set has something good in it. Dig hard to find the good things when you are thinking about the set. Build on those good things and minimize what was wrong. It is a difficult focusing technique but it works. Even if your buoy count doesn't improve, your quality of life will.

Of course, I have been the inspiration for a couple of tantrum threads here. I try to keep my frustrations temporary and let what I'm doing right stick with me for a long time. I'm enjoying the sport despite the age related degeneration of my skills and performances.

Eric

[6balls]

I have been the most consistent of my life lately, but my gen rule has been for years that if fall twice, I back it off to my opener, ski it perfectly for 4-6 passes...enjoy the ride and get in the boat.  3 falls at any pass and it really begins to eat at me...then the anger drives old school, pull the pylon out of the boat to get out the end gates skiing.  Not s'thing worth practicing so I never let 3 falls happen.  

Earlier in the season this was critical to enjoyment on the water and coming home happy when I was not as consistent.  Running longer lines doesn't produce the feeling of spanking 5 consecutive 35's or running 38...but I found I was happy to have skied, to have pulled a buddy, to have been in the boat.  When my back acted up there were times I didn't ski, but pulled a buddy who wouldn't have been able to run buoys otherwise...it was great...esp if he had a good night.  On a set where you decide to stay longer lines, there is also a distinct lack of pressure that makes the set really relaxing.

I also keep lines longer if I'm clearly not "on" for a particular day.  No sense in going for your best when you are inexplicably out of sorts.  On those days we have no business pushing our luck...even if your driver or ski buds want to see the shortline stuff.  "Same-same", ski a bunch of pretty passes, and get in the boat.  Give the other skiers tips and/or drive them well....if they are "on" that night, celebrate w/them.

It's hard, we're all competitive or we wouldn't be here...but dont' take yourself and your performance too seriously.  It took some years for me to get here...10 years ago I couldn't have written this...

 DAVE       

[Chef23]

I have to admit I got out of the water yesterday after 4 passes. I ran my opener and 34/22 then went down twice at 28 off. I was feeling tired (hockey, skiing and golf over the past few days) plus had a major cold so I just hopped in the boat. I wasn't pissed off just decided it wasn't a great day for me and decided not to push it. It was a beautiful morning out on the lake with my buddies though.

[Than_Bogan]

That's a really good point.  Sometimes just calling off a set and getting back in the boat is the best plan.  This weekend my training partner (and local guru) did exactly that.  He was just really off and figured there was nothing to learn by skiing more passes poorly.

[ForrestGump]

Mueller has me go back a line length all the time. He gives me two shots at a pass. He says skiinig even 1 killer gate and buoy is far more productive than 6 bad ones.

[skifreak]

Great advice all! I definitely think backing off is the way to go. Pride needs to get set aside and when i'm "off" I should just back down to something I run all the time and work on technique instead, ignoring ball count. If I'm lacking focus I need to change my goals for the set. Like I said, this only happens every now and then - hopefully I keep this all in mind next time!!