Do you need to end your session on a good wave?

I used to need to get a good wave in. Not a great wave, because then I’d have to go get another. Not a bad wave, because I just couldn’t go in on a bad one. I definitely couldn't go in if I fell on the last turn. I needed to get a good enough (but not too good) wave, and ride it all the way in, AND complete the ending turn or else try again.

That was fine when I was a pro surfer. But even years later, the idea of paddling in to the beach felt like failure. Why?

I know I’m not the only one. Somehow as surfers, we tend to forget all the other good rides in a session or even just the simple joy of being in the ocean that we experienced upon paddling out, and let that last ride dictate the quality of the surf session and for some people, the way we feel about ourselves. That feeling lingers for the rest of the day, or until that next wave.

Someone asked me the other day if my experience with holistic surf coaching had changed my own relationship with surfing. Yes, it has.

A moment of meditation during a Holistic Surf Coaching Retreat

My relationship with surfing (and with myself) has gotten healthier. I’ve gotten a lot better at separating my performance in the water from my feelings of self worth. When I need to go in, or just realize I’m not having fun anymore, I’ll try to ride one in, but if that wave doesn’t come, I will paddle in.

To all those who might say “I can’t paddle in!” I ask you, “why not?”

Discuss with a friend and let me know what you decide…