Learn to Surf

Growing up we used to go to the Ecuadorian beach any chance we’d get. We lived in the Andes, but our family has a special bond with the ocean. We all love it. 

Being in the water was part education, part family tradition, part right of passage. Some of my earliest memories are of waves that felt monstrous, pulling me in while my mother counted down for us to dive under. We’d come out on the other side, unscathed, almost every time. 

I spent countless hours in the water. It taught me respect for the ocean, patience, and built up my fascination for the aquatic unknown. I never learned to surf well, but we learned to ride a wave since we could swim, with or without a board. 

Those memories are burned into my brain. Wading in, waiting patiently, letting the small waves go past as they splashed us across the face. 

I can almost feel the anticipation of seeing a big wave form on the horizon. It never seems like much at first, but you can sense it when it’s the kind of wave that can take you all the way to the shore. You bide your time, you turn around, and you time your paddling so you’re able to give it everything you’ve got, just long enough to catch that wave. 

I’ve been thinking about this deeply, but sporadically, over the last few months. The memories that come back to resonate with how I’m thinking about my life in broader strokes.  

It’s really easy in life to go after every shiny thing that pops up - to bounce around jobs or chase after opportunities that are - almost always - too good to be true and turn out to be a whole lot of nothing. 

It is much more difficult to take the time to learn to surf,to catch the kind of wave that gives you the biggest bang for your buck - the kind that takes you all the way to shore with a grin spread wide across your face. It’s more difficult, but it’s worth it. 

Learning to surf isn’t just about standing up on the board. It’s about learning to differentiate a good wave from a bad one. It’s about developing the patience to sit out in the water. And it’s about putting in the work on the ground to build the skills to get up on that board once you’ve caught it. 

To pull us out of the (extended, I know) analogy - I think life, especially around work, is a tight-knit parallel. To be the best you can be at what you do you don’t have to do everything, or take every opportunity. That’s exhausting and counter productive. 

To grow into that best version of yourself, you need to learn to surf. 

Give yourself the headspace to consider whether an opportunity is really good. Reflect and look back to figure out to refine how you gauge those opportunities. Build patience by practicing it - don’t think in weeks, months or a year. Think in decades as much as possible. 

And put in the work. Do the reps. Break down your craft into skills, and take the time to learn them and hone them however works for you. 

The only way you’ll know what kind of wave is right for you - what kind of wave will be fun and challenging to ride, is by spending time out on the water. You’ll know through a mix of practice and observation. By taking chances and being willing to fail. 

When that perfect wave comes, you’ll have a lot more fun riding it a whole lot further. Ultimately, it probably won’t even be about how far it takes you, but rather, how fun the ride was. There’s more beauty in process than outcomes. 

You did the work up front, the wave takes care of the rest for you. 

Happy surfing, mi gente.