I have a group of ladies who are beginner to intermediate level snow skiers that I teach each week for eight weeks during the winter. When we were sitting on the chairlift, we saw some of the little kids below who were fearlessly zipping down the slopes. These kids must have been anywhere from four to six years of age.

Some of the ladies remarked how they wished they had started snow skiing at the same age of these little kids. They claimed that the kids seem to have no fear unlike them, struggling adults. When the kids fall on the snow, they just get up again and laugh it off.

This is in total contrast to adults who often have a deep fear of falling and injuring themselves. Indeed, some of my ladies tend to tense up and ski very slowly when the slopes are a bit steeper or icier. The common objective they all have when I asked them what they wanted to achieve this winter is to have more confidence on the ski slopes.

What these ladies might not be realizing is that they are already setting great examples for other adults. Instead of choosing not to pursue a sport or activity like snow skiing because they think they are already too old, they signed up to take ski lessons from professional certified instructors.

Despite their fears, they are always willing to try out the various drills I show them or venture out with the class on steeper terrain that they otherwise might not have skied down on their own. I give them a lot of credit for this and their efforts slowly pay off as they continually surprise themselves each week with their skill improvements.

Don’t Compare To Others

Although it would have been nice to start a sport like snow skiing at an early age, that opportunity has past for us adults so it’s not even worth dwelling on. My adult students should not compare themselves to the kids speeding past. They should be proud enough to participate in an activity that many other adults consider too extreme to start.

My ladies need not reach the level of the kids to have fun out there. They can enjoy the ski slopes on their own level and they are doing the right thing by learning how to do it safely with expert supervision and coaching.

Progress On Your Own Terms

This should be the same with any new skills whether they are sports or foreign languages or computers. All adults should realize that it is never too late to learn new things. For example, it is great to see more and more seniors are now taking efforts to learn how to use computers and the internet so that they can communicate with their loved ones online or share photos.

In fact, learning new things is a good thing because new skills help exercise our bodies and our minds. This has proven to be one of the best anti-aging strategies out there.

So if you have ever wanted to learn a certain sport or some other skill, do not hesitate to take the initiative to sign up for a course or seminar that will help get you started. Although you might not become an expert, you can still benefit greatly from all the enjoyment that you will get when participating with those new skills.

The ladies in my ski classes should feel no shame because they are slower than the ski kids. Instead, they should feel proud to add yet another skill and activity to their lives.

Feel free to share below a new skill that you learned later in life as well as those that you have still yet to learn.

Clint Cora is a motivational speaker, author and Karate World Champion. See his FREE 3-part Personal Development Video Series to learn how to expand your comfort zone to conquer even your most daunting goals in life.