Ski racing has become a combat sport in which you’re armored from head to toe and carrying weapons (razor sharp ski edges as swords and pointy ski poles for spears) to do battle against the course, terrain, snow conditions, and weather. You are also doing battle against the other racers in the field.

Unfortunately, too often, racers battle a foe in some ways more formidable than the race itself. I’m talking about themselves. In other words, many racers are their own worst enemy rather than their best ally on race day.

One thing is clear. You can’t win the battle against the course if you’re not on your own side. Which means you can’t win the battle against your competitors in the race field either. Without the total commitment to skiing your fastest that comes with being your own ally, fast skiing isn’t possible. There are two reasons why.

First, without being 100% behind yourself, you will hold back and not give it your all. Even if you hold back just a little bit, say 1%, that is a huge amount in ski racing. Let’s do the math. What’s 1% of a 2-run GS with a total time of 90 seconds? That’s whopping .9 seconds! A lifetime in a ski race. For you to achieve your ski racing goals, you can’t hold back even the smallest amount. You have to ‘bring it’ and ‘leave everything out on the course’, as I mentioned in my last post. That is your only chance of success and it’s only possible if you’re your best ally on the hill.

Second, success in ski racing requires you to take risks, whether straightening out a flush or attacking over a transition onto a pitch. The problem is that, if you’re your worst enemy, you’re simply not going to take those risks because you won’t believe those risks will pay off. So, you ski safely and not as fast as you are capable.

Your Worst Enemy

When you’re your own worst enemy, your mind turns against you to prevent you from skiing your best. It can create an internal battle between the part of you that really wants to do well and that other part of you that, for some unknown and very frustrating reason, wants you to fail.

An athlete I worked with not long ago told me how he would often have these running battles with himself in the starting gate: “I can ski fast. But what if I make a mistake.” “I can beat those guys. But what if I can’t.” “I’m ready. But what if it’s not enough.”

Negativity thinking (e.g., I’m going to crash.”), doubt (e.g., “I can’t handle the pitch.”), worry (e.g., “The course seems really rough.”), and uncertainty (e.g., “I’m not sure I can make that royal flush.”) do everything they can to ensure failure even before the race begins. And one thing is certain. If you aren’t your best ally, you have little to no chance of being victorious against the course or achieving your goals in the race itself against your competitors.

That part of you that is your own worst enemy may even actively (though not consciously) sabotage your efforts in subtle ways that keep you from achieving your race goals, but provide you with an excuse that protects your belief that you are a fast skier. For example, you may not go through your entire pre-race routine, thus ensuring that you’re not totally prepared to ski your best. Or you may not give your best effort on course or try your hardest to stay in the course when you make a mistake.

Your Best Ally

There’s no magic to moving from being your worst enemy to your best ally. It starts with the realization that you deserve to be on your own side. You love ski racing, work hard, and want to achieve your ski racing goals. You have earned the right to fight alongside yourself rather than against yourself.

It might even take a bit of disgust at yourself for not being willing to stand with yourself; “I’m sick of this! It’s time for a change!” This “I’ve had enough” attitude can provide the emotional impetus to start fighting for you rather than against you.

With this newfound determination, you consciously choose to do battle against your “dark side” and not allow it to maintain control over your skiing. When that internal conflict erupts in the start area or the starting gate, as I described above, you no longer allow it to continue, but rather marshal your forces for good and push back against that part of you that has been your worst enemy. You say, “I can do this! I will give my best effort! I will ski my fastest!”

Confidence and trust lie at the heart of being your best ally in your ski racing. Both involve a belief in yourself that comes from two places. First, confidence in your capabilities which include your natural abilities, fitness, mental strengths, and technical and tactical skills. Second, trust in your preparations that include your recent training efforts and your race-day warm-up, inspection, and pre-race routine.

When you focus on these two assets as you prepare for races, you give yourself the chance to become your own best ally and gather your resources to defeat the part of you that is your own worst enemy. It creates in you a positive, fighting attitude that gives you the opportunity to not only vanquish your “dark side” and become your best ally, but, as the end result, direct your fullest energies to “bringing it” and “leaving it all out there” on course.

Of course, this shift won’t occur overnight and the enemy in you won’t go away without a fight. But, with commitment and persistence, you can wear it down until it finally surrenders and recedes in the distance. What appears is a new and increasingly confident you who can now focus on doing battle with the course and your competitors rather than yourself. This new you will be willing to take the necessary risks, in being your best ally and skiing your fastest, that will most likely result in your achieving your ski racing goals.