What’s the key to growing and improving your skills?
It’s not practice, coaching or great gear (although all of those things are essential too). The big secret to getting better at paddling, or anything else in your life is your willingness to be vulnerable.
When you’re willing to be vulnerable, you’ll have the ability to uplevel your skills beyond what you thought possible.
The courage to be vulnerable
This week I’m in Playa Guiones, Costa Rica getting reacquainted with the ocean on a SUP surf board that is challenging for me. It’s the narrowest board I’ve paddled, and the ocean is always moving and pulsing.
I kept falling off and getting into my head about looking like a ‘kook.’ The surfing world is much less forgiving than the kayaking world when it comes to being judgy. :)
I had to remind myself why I chose to be out there, and that I had a choice to feel defeated or to take it on as a challenge to see how well I could do. The other reminder to myself was that I was doing this for me, not to live up to other people’s expectations of what SUP surfing should be.
As soon as I changed my attitude, Todd from CO started talking to me in the line up, and we had a great time cheering each other on, even sharing a party wave.
The fun wouldn’t have been possible without the courage to be vulnerable. One of my Mental Agility Mastery Class participants mentioned that one of the greatest vulnerabilities is having others watch us while we learn.
There’s no way to progress, at least in sports that require us to be outside and in environments with other people, without the courage to be vulnerable.
How to change your mind and boost your learning curve
A few mornings later I hired a SUP surf coach to help assess my skills and give me pointers for improvement.
The wind was blowing pretty hard and I struggled to stay on my board while watching for waves to come in. I fell A LOT.
As I floundered in the ocean beside my board after the umpteenth fall, I found myself thinking
(I was maybe screaming in my head…) ‘I hate this board!’
Since I just started leading Mental Agility Mastery this week, the practices of noticing and choosing to shift your mindset were right there top of mind.
As soon as I was present to my negative and defeating story about how shitty my board is, I decided to change my story.
‘I love this board! It’s teaching me so much, making me stronger and improving my balance.’
Boom! In that moment my energy and mindset shifted to taking on a challenge instead of being defeated by it.
I caught a few waves and then I caught a sweet wave, did all the things my instructor had been coaching me on, and rode the wave all the way in!
Everyone in the line-up started cheering – they were so stoked for me because they had seen me struggle all session.
It was a great feeling, and it wouldn’t have been possible without my mindset shift.
The next day I went out for a session on my own and caught so many waves! My balance and comfort on my board is growing and I’m having a ton of fun.
If you’re feeling defeated by a challenge in your life, on or off the water, get vulnerable and courageous. Notice the conversation that you’re having with yourself about that challenge.
When you have courage to choose an empowering story everything will change.
