I'm sitting in a slope side onsen in Niseko, Japan. Andrea Slusarski is next to me. We are warming up after a full morning of face shots and pow pillows. There might be some hot takes happening about Andy Warhol and cultural appropriation and wait for it... opportunity cost.
Take yesterday for example. We called it early after three hours on the mountain. That might seem like a poor decision to make when you've come all the way to Japan to ski some of the most amazing snow on the planet. But high winds and considerable avalanche danger closed most of the terrain we wanted to ride. We also were V tired, dehydrated, cold, and hungry after four days of pushing ourselves. We certainly lost out on some amazing turns, but what did we gain? What was the value of not continuing to ski?
We wanted to invest our resources—our physical and mental energy—into the next day, hoping it would be better and we'd be able to get to the terrain we really wanted to hit.
We do this in life all the time. What do we say yes to, what do we say no to? Slu and I chatted about how we weigh opportunity cost, which took sitting naked in a private onsen and this Far Out trip to the next level. Here's what we found to be the most impactful when sorting through the unknown:
- Learning from past experiences: Allow yourself to learn so that you can help your future self. That means you might fuck up. But if you take every experience as an opportunity for growth, you won't do it again.
- Figuring out your own equation. You need to know what you value the most and prioritize it. Remember that you will be more at peace when there is intention that’s about you, not others.
- Refusing to put your energy into the things that don't matter.
- Being comfortable knowing that your priorities and your energy will change, like the seasons.
- Trusting your gut, your instinct, those initial feelings. You know bb and don't forget that.
- Having a system for checking in with yourself.
So what did we gain by spending the afternoon resting and creating rather than riding? We felt amazing for our last day here. We took care of our bodies and felt strong. We skied the zones on our bucket list. We giggled in the blower over the head pow that seems to last all day long, on every single run. We were content. We were happy. We made new friends. We strengthened bonds with old ones. We affirmed our intuition and strength.
Sometimes the best decisions you can make are the ones that no one thinks you should.