Lessons from Surfing
One of my strengths as a consultant is my experience getting up again after falling. A lot. The reason I can help people get unstuck is because I have been stuck so often myself.
A couple of years ago, working full time from home and caring for my father required a lot of energy and focus. The daily grind was exhausting. My team and contract providers at work were wonderful and my Dad was a joy. Still, keeping up with everyone and everything was a lot.
When my brother Gerod came to visit and pitch in with Dad, I took a couple of days off work and drove to Santa Cruz. The ocean has always been my happy place and I wanted a complete break from work and caregiving. Sitting on the beach watching the waves, I longed to swim but remembered my parents telling me that “you never swim or hike alone” On a whim I looked up Santa Cruz Surf School on my phone. A private lesson was $200. That was a lot of money to spend on myself. As I’m looking at the price on my phone, a Venmo came through from a friend from high school sending exactly $200 to spend on myself while on break.
When I pulled up at the school a young woman was already there. Amy was a twenty-something cross-fit instructor who kept calling me “so brave” to try surfing. I was an over 50 woman who looked nothing like a cross-fit instructor and had to select a large wetsuit to fit. Amy warned me that few people get up on the board their first time, especially if they weren’t used to vigorous exercise. She hoped her level of fitness would give her an advantage and said that I was brave for even trying. I told Amy that I was just happy to get in the water with a buddy and if surfing happened - groovy! If it didn't, it would still be a good time. We practiced getting up on our boards in the parking lot and Amy reminded me it would be a lot harder on the water.
Amy went off with her instructor and I started paddling out with mine. First time up on the surfboard, I leaned left and my board flew right, Next time I over-corrected right, and the board shot out to the left. Then I went forward on the board and it went behind me. Further back and the board launched forward. Each time I fell, I got back up, paddled out and tried again. My very kind instructor said “Wow, you are really good at falling without hurting yourself” It felt good to laugh.
My instructor repeated the instructions for getting on the board and reminded me to place my “goofy” foot in back. I got up! For about 3 seconds I was on the board before crashing. Then back up and paddling again.
A surfer dude paddled past us and noticed my “Santa Cruz Surf School Student” shirt on my wetsuit and sneered “Do you think you will actually get up on the board today?” My instructor shot back - “she already has and on her first day!” When the surfer dude was out of earshot, I said that it was only for a few seconds and he replied. “It counts. Your wave is coming Anne-Marie, and you will ride it all the way to the beach.”
I caught a wave and stayed up! Nothing fancy, just shifting my weight to stay upright and heading for shore. On the beach I heard Amy and her instructor cheering. “You are surfing Anne-Marie, you are really surfing!!!” What a rush.
On the beach I asked Amy how it was going. She said that she got tired of falling and was just waiting for me to finish. I told her I wanted to surf some more. After a few more good runs my legs turned to jelly and got really cold. So I rode the last wave on my belly with 20 minutes left in my 2 hour lesson.
Back in the van with my head on my knees I waited for my breathing to return to normal. Both the instructors and Amy were celebrating how awesome it was to see me surf. I was proud and woozy at the same time. I love that Amy went from a kind skeptic to an enthusiastic cheerleader. Yay!
Working in an office is different from riding a surfboard, but being willing to take risks, willing to be a beginner, willing to fall, can all contribute to success. Falling is a part of learning. Letting go of the outcome and leaning in to learning a process can be really productive.
https://surfschoolsantacruz.com/
