Op-Ed: Progression Over Perfection

Featured Image: Laura Szanto | Skier: Erin Spong

Perfection is an ideal we all strive for. In life, in sport, in love. It’s a healthy motivator but it’s unrealistic to achieve every once in a while, let alone all of the time. Rather than inspire feelings of accomplishment and enjoyment, perfectionism can often leave us feeling inadequate, as if we fell short. It stifles creativity and self-expression, it sucks the joy out of the process and feeds a baseless belief that we are not enough. I’ve fallen victim to it my entire ski career, since my downhill racing days. Racing is harsh; you’re either the fastest or you’re not. I was hardly ever first, I was never perfect, and it burned me out of the sport. Freeskiing, though, that’s what drew me back in. The freedom to ski however and wherever I want. There are no rules, maybe style faux pas, but freeskiing is what you make of it. 

I leaned into this notion when I started working with Nordica teammate, Nat Segal, on a two-year project, Risk It, centered around progression. What that looks like for each of us, and what keeps us from reaching those goals. I’ve made a couple of independent film projects in the past, but I can’t say I’ve ever been genuinely proud of my skiing being represented on the big screen. I have always been so concerned with “getting the shot” that my perfectionism presented as fear. Fear of falling, failing. Fear of wasting time and money. But really, all that perfectionism did was hinder my creativity and ultimately, my own progression. 

Photographer Laura Szanto and skier Nat Segal find one of those rare, perfect powder cloud moments | Location: Selkirk Tangiers

When I let go of the need for everything to be perfect—the light, the conditions, the landing—I open myself up to opportunity. To express my style, to lean into my strengths, to push myself. I have finally reached a point in filming that I know I would rather fall trying something new or challenging than not try at all. That shift in mindset is progression in itself. 

Beyond my own skiing, it fires me up to see so many girls, young ones especially, pushing themselves and the sport forward. We have 12-year-olds throwing double backflips and cork 720s. Are they always landing? No. Does that matter? Definitely not. It’s far more exciting to watch someone try a new-to-them trick with imperfect style or technique than it is to watch a skier throw the same backflip they’ve been doing for years. Style matters, of course, which comes with repetition, but don’t be afraid to look like a fool in pursuit of pushing yourself to do something you’ve never done before. Much like running, it doesn’t matter how fast or how far you go; it matters more that you’re trying. A mile walked is still farther than not going at all and the same can be said for trick progression. It doesn’t matter how it looks at first, just so long as you’re trying.