New tricks: More difficult, but not impossible, as we get older

I've spent the past week on vacation in Kellogg, ID, where I used to work as the editor of the Shoshone News-Press before moving back home to Moses Lake and the Columbia Basin Herald. The pace of life here lends itself to relaxation, and makes Moses Lake seem like a big city compared to this quiet mountain village.

The vacation has been a welcome rest with plenty of time to catch up with friends and on sleep, but the highlight of my time here has been learning new things.

It's astounding, I've realized, how easy it is to stop doing that as you get older.

As a kid, a teenager and as a college student, we're open to new experiences and activities. But once we've begun to settle into our careers and our lives, we can easily become very comfortable with who we are and what we enjoy.

While knowing yourself so well is a rewarding aspect of growing older, it can also be limiting.

For instance, I've come to terms with hating the cold. I avoid it at all costs, sleep under an electric blanket from October to March, and try to stay indoors as much as possible until winter passes. I'm comfortable with this part of who I am and have accepted it as such. But it's also kept me from spending much time exploring winter sports.

This week, however, I learned to ski. I've fumbled around with snowboarding in the past, but when I failed, my own contentment in the knowledge that I probably wouldn't like it kept me from pushing myself to really try hard. This week I was more determined to succeed, and did. I'm no hotdogger yet, but I did manage two runs and only fell a few times.

I also learned to knit during the course of my vacation — something I've been wanting to learn for a while but in the chaotic hustle and bustle of daily life, it was easily pushed aside. Friends and family, you can look forward to many misshapen scarves next Christmas.

My point is the older we get, the easier it is to fall into our own comfort zones and choose not to try new things, or not make time to try them. When we're very young, taking on new tasks is part of our daily lives. Because we don't have to do that as much when we're older, we must take the initiative ourselves if we want to keep growing and achieving as individuals.

It's nice to be reminded there's still a lot of learning left to do.

Erin Stuber is the Columbia Basin Herald's managing editor.