There is a lot of waiting in surfing.

Waiting for the tide to rise or drop.

Waiting for the wind to die.

Waiting for the swell to come in.

Then when you’re in the water there’s waiting for the perfect wave.

Well, all this waiting doesn’t getting me anywhere.

In surfing and on the land, waiting does not bring us closer to what we want.

[Tweet “Waiting will never bring us closer to what we want.”]

Waiting does not help us make the most of our one precious life.

When we wait, because we think something better will come along, we miss out on the amazing opportunities right in front of us.

When we wait because of fear, we only become more fearful. (The surest way to tackle fear is to do what we are afraid of .)

When we wait for perfect conditions, we end up waiting and waiting and waiting. Because perfect rarely comes, yo. It’s special and magical and only shows it’s face on occasion.

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In surfing, every once in a while, and you never know when it will come, you get a perfect day.

Everything is just the way you want it:

The waves are the right size.

The wind is down.

The sun is out.

The water is comfortable.

The crowd is full of your besties.

These days are absolute heaven.

It’s a perfect surf day.

The problem with having a perfect day like this is we become greedy. We start to want that perfect day everyday.

Instead of being thankful for what we get, we start to expect amazing all the time.

But, life just doesn’t work that way.

Life wants us to be appreciative, so it only gives us those awesome days every once in a blue moon.

Life wants us to recognize that there is perfection in everything. We just might need to search for it.

Life wants us to be thankful for what we get.

Life doesn’t want us to wait for perfect before we start living.

When those amazing days do come around, life wants us to be able to recognize how special they are. To see that we are truly blessed.

Even on the really shitty days . . . there is a tiny bit of goodness somewhere.

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Two years ago I set a goal to surf every Wednesday for a year. This amazing year taught me a lot about life and about myself.

Two of the things I learned were:

Every day is a good day. I learned to appreciate the little things and stop taking them for granted.

You’ll never know unless you go. I learned that unless you get off your ass and stop complaining about what isn’t right, life will pass you by.

Just go! More times than not you will be glad you did.

[Tweet “Unless you get off your ass and stop complaining about what isn’t right, life will pass you by.”]

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Except for the 4 times I have been stung by stingrays, in 12 years of surfing I have never gotten out of the water saying, “oh damn, I wish I didn’t do that.”

I always walk away from a surf session with positive vibes and a smile on my face.

There is always something to appreciate even if I have to search to find it.

[Tweet “There is always something to appreciate even if we have to search to find it.”]

Had I waited for perfect conditions, I would have missed out on many opportunities for joy and gratitude.

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So my question for you is, “What are you waiting for?” Are you waiting to try something new, make a change, or start something big?

Are you waiting for things to be perfect before you start? To have more money? To have more time? To have more . . . ?

Well, let me tell you from experience-unless you make a decision to start, you will be waiting forever. The time will never be just right.

[Tweet “Unless you make a decision to start, you will be waiting forever.”]

Maybe it’s time to stop waiting.

Maybe it is time to begin that thing you want to do so you don’t wake up at the end of your life wishing that you did.

What small step can you take to get started? What move can you make in the direction you need to go?  I’d love to know and support you on your journey – leave me a comment and let me know!

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Salty Kisses-