Inspiring Book

A lot of my free time over the last month has been devoted to reading. There are a couple books that stick out in particular, but Skiing Zen by Rick Phipps pulls in at #1.

Leading up to May my library strongly consisted of science fiction novels. They're a nice escape from reality, but I felt the need try something new. So I started reading Biographies! Throughout that stint I got a hold of Michael J. Fox' books: Lucky Man and Always Looking Up. They were both great reads, having finished them both within a 6 day period even! It's not like I could closely relate to how his life has turned out, but it was more how he wrote that pulled me in. I noticed how I felt after reading his books... I honestly felt better about things, I was happier! The optimism jumped straight off the page and into my mind.

I noticed how it had affected me, so I started looking for other books that held a similar hold on me. Unfortunately, I haven't had too much luck, but it did open doors to a number of interesting books that I took neat ideas and concepts from. I tried to manipulate those thoughts and tested them out in training. Some worked, some didn't.

Before my meeting with my Sport Psych, Danelle Kabush, last Friday I asked her if she had any ideas for books. She had a couple suggestions, some I had read, but one in particular that I hadn't: Skiing Zen. I pointed out that I wasn't a big skier but she suggested that I borrow it anyways. It was amazing. It wasn't a particular optimistic book, but it was extremely inspiring and motivational. The first half is a little slow (interesting nonetheless), but middle of the way through, BAM! I was reading it at one point before going to bed, and all of a sudden I noticed my hands were sweating and my heart was trying to beat its way out of my chest. That night I read another two hours, despite being initially tired. I'm not going to go into the story at all here, but it's about attaining spirituality through sport, and at the same time it contrasts Eastern and Western thought patterns.

Another funny note, mid way through the book, Dr. Randy Gregg, Jessica Gregg's (another teammate of mine) father shows up and there is a whole chapter with him and Rick discussing Japanese culture. Anyways, I really enjoyed it and just wanted to let people know!

Thank you Danelle for introducing it to me!