Learning how to surf can teach us a lot about life.
There’s a lot of paddling.
Waiting.
Watching.
Judging.
Should I catch this wave? How about the next?
The waves are unpredictable.
They come in sets: a group of 3-10 waves.
There are minutes between sets where everything is calm. Such a quiet spell may continue until you think your chance is gone, and that the waves are done for the day.
But then, eventually, another set arrives.
Even after you’ve picked a wave, you’re not guaranteed to catch it.
You may paddle too early and the wave crashes on you, or you may paddle too late and you miss it all together.
Even when everything seems to come together, and you feel the wave’s force behind you, and you feel your speed increase, you still have to stand up.
You push your hands down firmly into the board, lift your body, bring one foot forward, and pop up into a half squat.
You’re about to do it!
You’re about to catch and ride the wave!
And then you fall.
There’s saltwater up your nose. You don’t know which way is up or down. You cover your head to protect it from the rocks below, or your board that’s thrashing around in the whitewash.
You find the surface and take a quick breath before the next wave crashes on top of you and takes you under again.
Once that set of waves has rolled through, you clamour back on your board, and begin to paddle out to start the process again.
Surfing is a weird sport. People often question how anyone can can work for 2 hours when all they get in return is 20 seconds atop a wave.
It’s not the 20 seconds that matter.
It’s the identifying and overcoming of all your ignorances, limitations, errors in judgement, and setbacks that ultimately lead to progress. That’s what it’s about.