This past weekend I went to a new surfing spot at California Street in Ventura, CA for the first time. Each spot is unique in that it comes with it’s own challenges, advantages, and adventure. For the first part of the day, I took a pretty significant beating. Getting into the water was challenging because I had to climb down a bunch of rocks to get in. Once I was in, the waves at the area I had chose to paddle out in were breaking much faster than I was used to. To add to that there was a kids surf competition going on around me and these kids could put my skills to shame in a heartbeat. (A little bit of ego surfacing…). All in all it was a pretty frustrating first half of the day.
After about 3 and half hours and not catching any really good waves and getting beat up a bit more, I got out of the water and thought about calling it a day. I figured it wasn’t meant to be. Lucky for me, my friend said he was willing to wait it out for another half an hour if I wanted to paddle out again to catch one or two waves. After resetting myself mentally I started to paddle for the next wave that came through and I caught it perfectly. In that moment I realized that it all came down to one thing, wave selection. I paddle out to catch a second and it was yet another perfect, long, and smooth ride. My day was made and on that first wave I came up with the idea for this blog post.
Life is really about choices. The choices you make will ultimately determine whether you are going to have a bumpy ride, a severe wipe out, or a smooth ride to success. Everything we do in life is a choice. We choose our boss. We choose our jobs. We choose our actions. We can make the choice to focus on what we control and let go of what we don’t. The ride to success is nothing more than the consequence of the choices we have made. If you ride the wave in the direction its taking you, then you are going to find success to be easy. If you go against it, then success will be an uphill battle. Choose each wave wisely.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Really great post, Srinivas! It’s amazing all of the great lessons you learn from surfing!
Srini, great pic! When I make it over to Cali, I want a lesson. I have wing girl skills to offer in return
Wave selection is key, which is why there is so much aggro at all the really good spots.
Up here in Northern California, if you’re willing to walk, you can find places with sweet breaks and nobody in the water.
Except for the Landlord. Ahem.
@Dani: Thanks for the kudos. Yeah, It’s definitely place where I get most my life lessons and most of my ideas for blog posts.
@Jenny: you’re on. Sounds like a fair exchange.
@Dave: I’m gonna have to make at trip up there although it will require a new wet suit and probably even gloves.