We have a saying around our house that started when we first started to take our kids snow skiing:
“If you’re not falling down, you’re not skiing hard enough.”
The boys were about 14 inches tall, tiny little Michelin Men with tiny T-Rex arms, making their way down the slopes on tiny skis. But early on, we wanted to impress upon them that they should never be afraid to fall. Falling meant they were testing limits, and testing limits meant they were pushing boundaries, taking their skills and abilities to places they had never been.
We wanted that to be a life motto for them — as they grew older, we applied the motto to other aspects of their lives, and it became, “If you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough.”
See, if you are trying hard enough, and you’re failing, you’re pushing boundaries. And that’s a good thing. So when you fail or fall, it’s time to hop back on the board and push the boundary again. Remember Traf-O-Data? Of course you don’t, because almost nobody’s heard of Bill Gates’ first company. It failed in an epic way, but was an important step on the road to Microsoft.
Stephen King’s first novel was rejected over 30 times. Thomas Edison tried somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000 unsuccessful filaments before he saw the light. It’s important to understand that falling is good, especially when it comes to stand up paddling.
Weather permitting, we try to end every paddling session with some fails and falls.
We practice quick stops and turns. We walk the board. We try to hang ten. Or five. Or maybe just a big toe. But the point is, we try to do something that going to make us fall. It’s fun, it’s a great way to cool off, and it’s a great way to improve your skills on the SUP.
So go grab craft of choice and push some limits. Then fall off. And enjoy it.
Happy paddling.
