If you don’t start surfing until you are 35, or if you’re a “late bloomer” to any new sport or activity, you may have a problem.
Often people talk about this with language – it’s easier to learn (via immersion in particular) when you are young and the brain is developing.
But there’s more.
As we accumulate decades of belief systems and knowledge, we often prioritise this over action.
We need this each day. We use knowledge to “dictate” action.
We know the ocean is a scary place (we saw Jaws too, remember?), we know waves are dangerous and most importantly, we know we can’t surf, as we’ve never done it before.
So, we hold back.
But the thing is, we don’t know we can surf, until we catch that first wave.
We couldn’t until we could. Action needs to happen before the belief system can change.
This is often the case: no amount of intellectualising or convincing can change our mind about the nature of reality (and in particular, our own abilities). We need to experience or act first and let the belief system or knowledge catch up.
Any growth, advancement, change or new experience is often in conflict with our belief system or comfort level.
Learning to surf, like a lot of things, is supposed to feel a little scary.
