When In Doubt, Go Out
The Road to Mastery in All Fields
“When in doubt, don’t go out” is a well-known aphorism among surfers. I think it’s bs. Let me explain.
**I speak from my experiences as a regular surfer and with my close group of regular surfers in mind.
In surfing, there’s a comfort zone, an adrenaline zone, an aw crap zone (doubt), and a hell no zone.
Comfort zone —It is in this place where it is safe and fun to try new maneuvers. The heart rate is low and the stoke rate high.
Adrenaline zone- This is personally my favorite zone. The surf is big or good enough to get the heart rate up and the juices flowing. Each movement matters and this is where some of the best surfing goes down.
Aw crap zone — This is the land of the I don’t know, the doubt. It’s always damn near impossible to sleep before an aw crap day of surfing. This is the place where limits are tested. Maybe you’re surfing in a new place with new risks such as shallow reef, a difficult takeoff, or it’s just huge. This aw crap zone will test and define your limits.
Hell no zone — When you know, you know. This is beyond doubt. You’re totally satisfied (yet still curious) from watching from afar. Maybe one day!
These zones are bound to change as the surfer progresses. One day there may be no “hell no zone” as the surf master has pushed his or her limits to the extreme.
Pushing
Pros are only as good as their home breaks. NOT. Tell that to Kelly Slater and the Hopgood brothers who grew up surfing Florida slop. Although, perhaps their garbage wave situation lit a fire underneath them which inspired them to seek out better waves and progress rapidly. Anyways, a surfer grows up surfing their home breaks often. Some people grow up on the North Shore or in Tahiti, others grow up in Huntington. A surfer’s perspective on waves and danger is influenced by their exposure.
I finally got bored with myself surfing my home waves. Sure, there were days that were outside of my comfort zone and epic, but it was time to go find waves that I had only seen in videos. I decided to pack my backpack and head to those famed Indonesian reefs that I’ve mind surfed for hours, but always had the question mark in my head as to whether or not I could conquer them.
Surfing over shallow reef is something that I was not used to and it terrified me, but I also knew that every surfer does it including five-year-olds so I had to send it. I escaped the first mission unscathed and with some of the best waves in my life.
In order to find those best waves of my life, I had to enter the ‘aw crap zone’. The I don’t know land. The unknown. When in doubt, I went out.
And Now I’m Here
I’m surfing the famous Playa Zicatela every day with the whole world shut down due to Co-Vid19. I’ve always been curious to know what it’s like to be inside massive barrels, so I’m slowly making it happen. This is a battle that I chose. I’m learning how to sleep with surf anxiety. The first couple of nights were rough, but I’m starting to accept it now.
This very morning inspired this article. I got up, went to the roof, and checked out the waves. It looked pretty mellow despite the fact that I knew there was a lot of swell in the water. I just thought, eh, maybe it’s not big like it was forecasted. I got in the water, took my first wave, wiped out, but whatever. I’ve been here for a week and I still wipeout on just about every first wave. But, I quickly found out that this was not the real set. The next set was enormous, and it sent adrenaline shrieking through my spine and filled my brain with the aw craps. The questioning of my life and why I’m out here quickly followed. Am I good enough for this? (maybe). Could I survive a wipeout that size?(probably). Is my board right for this? (definitely not). The second wave I took was bigger and I pulled the eject cord and jumped from what felt like the top of a cliff all the way to the bottom and got creamed (my perspective). After a couple of flips, I popped up the back laughing and was ready for another. I survived, therefore, I can keep pushing.
Not gonna lie, surfing almost feels like work lately. Almost every day here is just about in my personal aw crap zone.
However, it’s worth it for me. This is a journey that I deem worthy of my time. It does it for me. It’s those little moments inside the barrel and gosh-dang-golly hopefully soon getting shot out of the barrel that keep me stoked and looking forward to tomorrow. It’s proving to myself that I can do things I didn’t know for sure were possible.
The Process to Progress
Progression sometimes feels like a snail crawling up Mt. Everest. But when you zoom out, those incremental small improvements compound over time. Each wipeout is a little victory. Each wave that is ridden is a little victory. Your brain is learning from every experience that you choose to give it. Confidence slowly builds as we continue to learn from the masters and even develop our own style. Next thing you know you’re drinking a beer in a barrel that can kill a normal man like Mr. Slater did here.
Stagnation leads to burnout, depression, and boredom (Not scientific facts but I’m right I know it). The great danger is that we give in to feelings of boredom, impatience, fear, and confusion. We stop observing and learning. The process comes to a halt. — Farnam Street Blog I’ve seen a few buddies give up surfing or digress. It happened to me while I was focusing on baseball. It’s sad because surfing is fun and the better you get the more fun it is. It’s even more fun with a core group of guys who are at a similar level pushing each other. It can get boring if you don’t push yourself, and it gets scary real quick if you aren’t in surf shape
“Whenever we learn a skill, we frequently reach a point of frustration — what we are learning seems beyond our capabilities. Giving in to these feelings, we unconsciously quit on ourselves before we actually give up.” FS Blog
Progression takes effort. Effort takes a conscious decision to expend your limited energy. It’s the only way to get gains in whatever game you are playing. Also, progression takes humility.
I got the pleasure of surfing Kelly Slater’s Wave Ranch. I knew I was going to have fun, but the night before I was damn nervous. Why? Well, I knew there’d be cameras and that I didn't want to blow it. I’d be surfing with pros and I was going to look horrible compared to them. Sure enough, the one right the camera got, I blew. Oh well. No 30-second barrels for the boys. Life moves on.
You’re bound to fail, especially when you take risks. If you’re a prideful person, the setbacks will be greater. It’s how you deal with the failure that determines if you will become a master.
So if in doubt, go out. Your hell no zone is going to start to shrink. This applies any skill that you are sharpening. You’re only going to get the big clients if you go after them, a piano player will improve by practicing harder songs, a black belt gains nothing from fighting a white belt, etc.
Pick your battles wisely. Then…SEND IT, SURVIVE, LEARN, APPLY, REPEAT.
