Photo: Unsplash / Frank Mckenna
For many who call themselves “surfers,” riding waves is really just a hobby. And to most, making a living out of surfing is a very distant dream. While we spend our days getting pitted in our minds and imaginations, our body is firmly planted in a classroom or an office for the large part of our daylight hours.
An obsession with surfing can often be looked down upon by family, colleagues, and other snooty land lubbers claiming a daily saltwater baptism has no tangible benefits. In their eyes, we are wasting our lives chasing a feeling. If you would indulge me for a moment, I would appreciate the opportunity to prove these naysayers wrong. I reckon that surfing does not negatively impact the other aspects of our lives, rather it improves them.
Here are some lessons surfing has taught me that can apply to the so called real world, where we are condemned to spend so much of our time.
1. Have patience
This one isn’t a surprise. Anyone who has caught a wave will understand the idea that you have to first wait for the wave. Sometimes this will happen in a matter of seconds. Sometimes it will be several minutes before you come across a wave. And obviously many times it will take even longer to stroke into one. It can be noted that the longer the wait, the more satisfying that ride will often be. We live in a world that supports the need for instant gratification, from online messages to fast food. Surfing speaks to the increasingly rare message that some things are worth waiting for and that a bit of patience will often pay off.
2. Keep your cool when things get hectic
Talk to any surfer who’s been at it for a little while and they’ll all surely have some gnarly stories. Most surfers have experienced their fair share of sketchy wipeouts, hold downs, injuries, or all of the above. In these situations, we all learn to get through by suppressing the urge to panic and thinking clearly. Hectic moments occur on land as well, and having a few under your belt that took place in the ocean is often handy life experience.
3. Take chances
Bear with me as I get a little metaphorical here, but you can look at all waves as opportunities. A wave is an opportunity for you to draw your own line on, and the only way to do so is to paddle hard and drop in. Once you’ve accomplished that, the ride is yours to do as you want. The biggest and scariest ones can be intimidating, but they’re often the ones that give us the best rides. Yeah, you just may get stuck in the lip. You may not make the drop. And you may get hammered. But I personally prefer the feeling of getting worked over the gut feeling of knowing I chickened out.
4. Don’t take yourself too seriously
Every surfer has failed. Every single person who has stood up on a surfboard at any point in their life has fallen off. There’s a common saying “if you’re not wiping out, you’re not having fun,” and a healthy part of improving at anything is being able to laugh at yourself when you mess up. Unless you’re surfing big waves, a wipeout is most likely not going to kill you. Instead, it’s that opportunity to have a bit of a chuckle at yourself because, let’s be honest, fails are pretty funny. Not taking yourself too seriously and giving things a go without fear of failing are useful skills that are applicable in the world today. You may find that with this perspective and those lessons under your belt, you will end up doing things you never thought possible.
We can’t surf all day every day, so these lessons we learn while riding waves certainly enrich the rest of our life. When your favorite hobby helps your daily life you know you’ve found something worthwhile.
