Would life be easier with a surfer mentality?

This weekend I headed out for a surf in the beautiful waters of Indonesia. The conditions were not optimal and all these excuses started popping up in my head — “It’s too cold”, “I might get hurt”, and “The waves are not big enough”. Luckily I had a more determined friend with me who pushed me into a more positive state of mind and off we went.

In the water, I had the most amazing experience — small fun waves, great people in the water, a turtle swimming up next to me. What an afternoon!

When surfing, you have to be fully present — assessing the waves, being in the right position, feeling the force of the wave to stand up at the right time, and surfing the wave with its power not fighting it. If you are not present at this precise moment, you lose the wave. Surfing requires you to have peace and patience knowing that your wave will come, connecting with nature to get to know its patterns and movements to choose the right waves to go for and an acceptance that you can not change the environment only adapt to it.

This surfer mentality consists of a lot of great qualities that can help onshore as well:

• Enjoy the wave — are you on a positive wave, enjoy it! Slow down and take in the present moment. Don’t grasp onto this particular wave, but trust that there will be more waves in the future. Accept what is and adapt to the current situation, and have patience knowing that things will come and go and nothing is forever.
• Listen to nature — your intuition will tell you what to do. Be strategic about where to position yourself for the next waves but don’t push it, let it flow and accept that you can not get all waves, but you will get the ones meant for you if you are present. Use the freedom and power to choose what to chase and where to focus your energy.
• Just do it! — There are no waves on shore, to get the waves you have to be in the water. Get in the game and see what it will teach you. If you don’t fall you will not learn. Enjoying the moment regardless of future outcomes.

Happy surfing this life!