I have always been thankful that my father taught me how to ski. I vividly remember the day when I first conquered those slippery, snowy slopes, despite the fact that I was only at the tender age of 5-years-old. With my tiny skis in hand, a helmet way too big for me balanced on my head, and just enough warm layers on to generate the thought that I was a puffy marshmallow, I was ready to go. The sensation of effortlessly gliding was so exciting and new that the only feeling that I remember experiencing is pure joy—even though I spent the majority of the day falling on my face.

That day was the first of many day trips to local mountains and my father, my sister, and I fell in love with skiing all over again with each one. As we became more advanced and confident in our skills, we had to make difficult decisions. While we may have found ourselves in some pretty hairy situations, we always came out of them okay and we learned some pretty important lessons along the way. At some point in each of our lives we will have to make difficult, sometimes questionable decisions, and skiing has taught me how to handle these early on in life.

1. Life is short. Drink the hot chocolate.

This one is simple and pretty self-explanatory.

2. The first run is always the coldest.

The first time that you go down the mountain on a chilly morning always feels brutally colder than the rest of the day. Once you get warmed up, though, the other runs become more enjoyable and comfortable! The same goes for all of the other first times on personal mountains. Perhaps, for you, those mountains include a new job, unfamiliar surroundings, or newly learned skills. I promise that it gets easier.

3. The only way to get down a field of moguls is to go around them, not over them.

By skiing straight down a field of moguls, you are pretty much asking for a broken bone. The only way to ski “the bumps” in a controlled way is to bounce off of each one to the next by quickly changing your direction. The same goes for bumps in life. If you adapt to obstacles by using multiple perspectives, and accepting that sometimes you just have to change directions to reach your goal, you can and will make it through anything. You will also end up much happier.

4. Jumps can be fun. Terrifying, but fun.

Sometimes, you just have to have faith that the landing is clear, have confidence that you will take off balanced, and just do it. It’s hard to have faith and throw yourself out of your comfort zone, but it’s like ripping off a band-aid. Those who explore outside of their comfort zone seldom tiptoe there! Yes, there’s a possibility that you could fall, but what if you fly instead?

5. Respect the trees.

Skiing in the woods takes a certain amount of responsibility; if you don’t get out of the way of the trees, they certainly aren’t moving for you. As my dad always said, “You don’t want to end up with bark in your teeth.” Accepting those forces that are stronger than you and having the wisdom to know what those forces are will give you a feeling of serenity.

6. The ride is fun, but make sure that you take a second to take it all in at the peak.

The main purpose of riding a chairlift to the top of a mountain is so that you can ski down, right? That's true, but if you stop and look around on a clear, crisp day, you will realize that the view from the top is pretty incredible. No matter what peaks you may reach in life, always stop to look around and appreciate how high you’ve climbed.

As the legendary Ferris Bueller put it, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”