Decisions, decisions, and peace

Sometimes having too many options, too many

decisions to make can be a bad thing. How many

surfers have large quivers with a healthy variety

of surfboards, shapes, and sizes? I know I'm guilty for sure.

I've got almost every kind of board imaginable from a 5'8"

retro fish to a 10'10" SUP with just about everything in between.

I own longboards, shortboards, guns, eggs, single fins, twin fins,

tri fins, and a quad. Got all my bases covered I guess, but

sometimes all it does is confuse me. Sometimes I wish

I didn't have so many choices, so many decisions to make.

It sure was easier when all I had to do was grab my only board

go surf.

Life can seem a lot like picking out a board to ride. To

many choices can lead to too much stress. Narrowing

down the array of options can be a relief, can provide peace.

Recently I've had to make some decisions, I found myself

thinking about and exploring all the options

available. Like many, I asked others for their advice. I heard

lots of ideas, lots of opinions, lots of choices. It

became almost overwhelming. After a bit of time, some meditation

and thought I reached my own decision. I decided what I would

do, which board I'd ride as it were. No more second guessing.

Odd how peaceful it can become when you make a decision, pick

the board you'll ride.

Make your own decision. One that is right for

you. You can second guess forever, wonder if you've chosen the

right path, the right board, or you can mindfully

and thoughtfully pick one, have confidence in it and enjoy

your session. It's your choice.

Filters

In surfing and in life it's really how you look at

things that matters. What filters do you use that

influence what you see or what you hear. How do

your filters impact the quality of your life, your

relationships, and how you communicate with others?

I listened as a surfer I know talked about a recent

session. "It was amazing...so good and not at all crowded"

Another surfer who was surfing at the same spot and

at the same time told me "it wasn't really that great, the

wind was blowing hard and it held you up making it tough

to make the drop". Yet another told me "the ramps on the

inside lefts were great for launching airs. I had a blast!"

Three surfers all seeing things from their own unique

perspective, judging the same wave in very different ways.

I hear similar things in my office. Just tonight I worked

with a couple whose big issue revolved around one partner

hearing something through their own filter. What they heard

and ultimately reacted to was not at all what their partner

actually meant or said. They never even thought that

they could have been filtering the message through their

own perspective and not actually hearing what was said

or what was meant.

Do your filters get you in trouble? Confuse the messages?

Dictate your reactions? Try to understand and listen to what

is actually being said not what you think was said or what you

think it meant. Slow down before you react. The same surf,

the same time, 3 different perspectives. Probably happens in your

life alot.

Lost in Whitewater

Wow, it's been a while since my last update.

Sort of like someone wiping out on a big wave, a Tres

Palms, Mavericks, or Waimea Bay type big wave, and

disappearing in the white water before suddenly popping up.

I've popped back up!

Not quite sure what held me under for so long. I barely even

remember wiping out at all. Guess we all get lost at times.

It's easy to lose our focus, or get too involved in some things without

remembering how important other things are. Maybe that's

it, I lost some focus. I got busy in the office, found myself

focusing on the trivialities on each day, dealing

with what might seem the more important events in one's life, or

maybe it was the joy of surfing in the warm waters of Puerto Rico.

Be that as it may, I got lost or should I say sidetracked. We all do.

The important thing it to pop back up! As long as we pop back up

out of the whitewater after a wipeout we're fine. Even long hold

downs have lessons to teach.