In an effort to practice what I teach, I decided to engage in a new activity last weekend. We went cross country skiing at the Brattleboro Outing Club and had an amazing, fun day of exercise that felt like play.

Part of the enjoyment that comes from trying something new is the unknown aspects of the activity. There’s nervousness, anticipation, excitement and a range of other emotions.

I’m pretty athletic and coordinated, yet was very humbled while learning to cross country ski. It’s challenging to move gracefully and in control.

I had to remind myself repeatedly to move slowly and deliberately, while concentrating on getting the movements down.

Another benefit of trying a new experience is that you are completely in the moment, focusing your entire concentration on the activity you’re working to master. There’s no room for worries about past or future events.

The scenery was beautiful. The people were friendly. The weather was amazing (on the day we went) and it just felt wonderful to move in a new way, breath fresh air, and enjoy the novelty of being challenged by something different.

During the winter months, the club offers both snowshoeing and cross country skiing on miles of groomed trails. There were several easy trails and you could move onto the moderate and more difficult as desired. Not yet for me!

You can rent equipment very inexpensively on weekends when the hut is open (10 - 4) or bring your own equipment and play anytime.

There is an honor system of payment at the club hut ($10 to snowshoe and $15 to ski for adults). There were also several trails on the roads leading to the club that looked great for snowshoeing for free.

The club is located approximately 45 minutes from Northampton, MA and was an easy ride up Route 91.

It was such a treat to drive a relatively short distance away and have access to lots of snow when our landscape is covered in grass and mud. I highly recommend it.

Action Steps:

• Think about the last time you engaged in a new activity that made you feel a little bit excited and/or nervous.

• Is there anything you can do within the next month that would be exciting or interesting? It doesn’t have to be anything big. We’re thinking about trying ax throwing this weekend. (I’ll let you know how it goes.)

• Go out and do something new that sounds like fun to you! Bring a friend or family member along to share the experience with.