Surfing at The Wave, Bristol, the second time surfing was significantly easier than the first Time on Bondi beach in Australia in January. I spent a lot less time thinking about every single step and it just came a bit more naturally, I could also think about where I was going wrong. It made me think of a few lessons that apply to my coaching practice

Take your time - the instructors were saying for me to go as there was a queue, every time I went from that I had a wipeout and essentially queued to miss a go. However, when I took my own time and went at my own pace, I rode every wave to shore

Get back up - I was sore, it was painful lugging the board, the pop up hurt having practiced so many times, I was bored halfway through, I wiped out, however I kept going and learning from each surf

The fun has to be worth the pain - for the all the reasons mentioned in getting back up, I only did it because I really enjoyed riding the waves when I did it - I mean it also looks really cool and is a life dream of mine - however, there’s no point going through all that pain, if it’s not fun or worth it to you. You won’t be motivated to keep going

You can be surrounded by rain but enjoy the sun you’re in - we had literally driven through a storm to get there, the wave was literally circled by black clouds, however it wasn’t raining over the lake and there were even glimpses of sun. Instead of worrying about what the weather might be like in a minute, we made the most of every bit of dry weather and sun because we didn’t know how long we had in it and there’s no point getting upset or worrying over something that might not happen, it was good we didn’t worry about the weather as it was dry the whole time.

Be present in the moment - I have to clear my head and think about paddling the waves, putting my back foot at my knee, lowering my heel to create space for my other leg to pull through to the front of the board at the right angle, look straight ahead shoulders facing forward and arms up. Yet all that has to be done super quickly and essentially look seamless. If I was thinking about other things and not going by the wave, I’d be knocked off course. And even more than that, I wouldn’t enjoy ride the wave.

Whilst you’re learning have a safety net - when learning something new, do it somewhere with a safety net, in surfing this was in the shallow water. Knowing that you’re going to be caught safely if you fall, means you’re happier to try new things. In life, this could be trialling a new business by starting it as a side hustle, taking on a new job with a really supportive boss.

Whilst you think it’s tougher at sea, others think the circumstances you’re in are harder - everyone has different circumstances, you can do two things the same, but in different places they’re opposite experiences. The wave in Australia was so bad the practitioner said it was even hard for seasoned surfers, elsewhere in Bali the sea was much easier to surf in than the Wave Bristol. What you think is hard someone else may find easy and vice versa, play to your strengths and there may be somewhere you find it easier. You’re also not necessarily bad at something you’ve just been doing it in the wrong environment for you.

Look up in front of you but feel in/listen to your body to feel what you’re doing is right - Whilst you need your feet in the right position on the board, you have to look forward when your surfing, so you don’t actually know your feet are in the right place on the board or you’ll fall off/won’t get up. However, you have to feel that it's right, feel that your feet are in the right position, feel you foot goes to your knee on the way up, feel your heel goes down and foot comes through to the right position, and feel you land them in the right position. Like in life, you have your overall goal, but you have to keep checking in that feels right to you, if it doesn’t feel right to you then reposition. If you’re going in the right direction, move your body position to the right direction and don’t be afraid to fall off completely, so that you end up at the right goal