If you want to surf, you have to be willing to paddle. And when you’re green and inefficient, there’s a lot of paddling, especially to get “out the back” where the waves are just beginning to break.
But once you’re out there, it’s not the amount of paddling that determines if you catch a wave or not. It’s your positioning relative to where the waves are breaking.
We can’t out-paddle a wave, so if we try, it ends up being wasted effort. Our effort is better spent putting ourselves in exactly the right position where minimal energy needs to be expended to catch the wave.
The lesson is applicable beyond surfing too!