Fear vs. Flow
“The secret to life is to have no fear!”
Out loud, I repeat that Fela Kuti incantation to myself every time I stand on the beach preparing to paddle out into the surf at La Pastora, a surf spot north of Todos Santos, Mexico. It's a point break with a rocky bottom, the swells are regularly 6-8 ft or more, so definitely not a beginner break. I’m trying to psych myself up for the session, and specifically, the thing that holds me back in my surfing the most right now, fear.
I’ve been surfing for years, but I’m still a kook. It is something I love, and it brings me joy and serenity. I am determined to get good enough to surf with confidence in this spot. But it's a long way from the gentle waves of eastern North Carolina.
The truth is: my fear is holding me back.
I need to address this to get better. I decided to pinpoint what is scary to me. It won’t come as a surprise. Paddling out through 6-8 ft waves and getting caught in the impact zone. Being held underwater and losing my breath. These things happen regularly to me, many of my sessions end in exhaustion.
By pinpointing what causes the fear, I can focus my attention on what I am working on, and for me, the first step is learning how to duck dive. These days, a successful duck dive is just as exciting to me as catching a wave.
I once had the pleasure of meeting Garrett McNamara, the big wave surfer, in Portugal at Web Summit. Anne and I even got to surf with him. I asked him a question about what is going through his mind as he is being towed into a 100-foot wave in Nazaré, “How do you get over the fear?”
“The fear is what keeps me alive,” he said, “You have to harness the fear, but you never get over it.”
Fear can hold us back from a lot of things in life. Starting a business. Pursuing a dream.
Taking a risk is usually first met with fear. Fear of failure. Fear of injury. Fear of pushing into that unknown realm beyond your comfort level.
Risk is the ante up to achieving growth, to pushing past your current capabilities and circumstances.
I’m embracing my fear to find a way through it. I won’t be surfing 100 ft waves anytime soon, but I hope my confidence will grow on my paddle outs. Feeling the fear will help to identify the areas to focus my attention.
May you feel the fear to help you find your flow.
- Chris