If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
People say to find something you are tremendously passionate about and put your heart and soul into it, and what you’ll get out of it will be extremely rewarding. At least that’s what I make of all the things that have been said about finding and doing things you are passionate about. They don’t need to be the things you make a career out of, but just about anything. If you have a love for music or the movies, then the movies can transform your life. If you’ve read my blog up until now, then you know exactly where I’m headed with this blog post.
I think Kelly Slater said it best when he said “Once you’re a surfer, you’re done. It’s like the mob or something. You’re not getting out.” A few weeks back I mentioned the importance of finding an outlet, and what started as only that has become much more for me. I’ve continually gained life lessons from the skool of surf and even attempted to convince you that surfing makes the world a better place. Riding the waves of recession to enlightenment has transformed the quality of my life completely for the better. So, what exactly has this outlet, turned hobby, turned passion/obsession done for me to make me speak so highly of it?
7 WAYS THAT SURFING HAS TRANSFORMED MY LIFE
Improved Health: To say that my health has improved dramatically during the time I’ve been unemployed would be an understatement. Occasionally I used to smoke cigarettes when I was out drinking. 3 months ago I felt it when I was surfing, and after that day I haven’t touched a cigarette since. I’ve never been overweight, but I’ve lost whatever gut I had thanks to surfing, and to add I’ve started to build tremendous upper body strength. When you look in the mirror and like what you see, it undoubtedly makes you feel good.
Presence: I can honestly this is one lesson in life that i’ve struggled with for a long time. I’ve spent alot of my time dwelling on the past and thinking about the future. Becoming a surfer has really started to remove lack of presence from my life and taught me to really embrace living in the moment.
Peace: In the last month or two I’ve noticed a certain sense of peace that has come over my life. I find myself not arguing with my parents over small things and find that I don’t make a big deal out of small things. It seems that not much can shake me, which is a wonderful feeling.
Friendship: When I finished graduate school in April, many of my friends left the country and I felt scared that I wouldn’t meet any new people or that I might struggle. I can honestly say that I’ve spent more time in the water than I have anywhere else in the last 3 months and as a result I’ve made new friends from all walks of life.
Confidence: My own level of confidence has increased dramatically just by believing that I’ve taken on one of the most challenging sports there is and actually made massive progress when I have had close to zero natural athletic ability at any other sport I’ve tried in my life. I’m sure the constant endorphin overdoses don’t hurt either.
Travel: While I haven’t done much travel when it comes to surfing (with the exception of a few places in California), I know that the world has opened up to me in terms of travel and every vacation I take for the rest of my life will probably be a surfing trip. Given that three fourths of the earth is covered in water, the world has opened up to me in terms of travel.
Inspiration: To tell you the truth almost every blog post you’ve read on this blog in the last 3 months was inspired by my time in the water, even those that make absolutely no mention of surfing. I can’t really explain it, but I usually come out of the water with a dozen new ideas for blog posts.
I’m not sure what I expect you to gain from this post. But, if anything, don’t underestimate that power of your hobbies and interests to have a dramatic impact on the quality of your life.
