https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/29/opinion/sunday/in-praise-of-mediocrity.html Forget for a second it is the NYT, great article regarding how we need to enjoy our "hobbies" more and quit taking it so serious.
Decent piece. Anyone who has seen how the parents of this nation behave at their kiddos sports games, and how lame the coaches are, will probably agree with this: the games of the kiddos are being destroyed by the parents. Even surfing... The private coaching, the travel leagues, the tourneys....nobody gets a chance to just hang out & grow up anymore...
Send your kiddies to Cobra Kai - they will teach the true meaning of respect, "Sweep the Leg", and good sportsmanship.
Even though I did play some organize sports growing up, such as baseball, basketball (even H.S. teams), the best times where the pickup games at the park, the driveway hoop, or in the street.
I agree and disagree... because I tend to quit sh!t when it ceases to be fun. That's why I quit every team sport I ever played in 9th grade. It started to become all about winning, and not about playing. The best is when you can combine the two, and that's where surfing has taken me. The better I got at it the more fun I had... so it became a positive feedback loop that built upon itself. The "winning" feeling of getting the hang of it made me want to "play" more, and on and on... I think surfing is like that for everyone... at least to some degree. Most of us surf for the pure fun of it, or because it makes us feel better in some way... emotionally, mentally, physically... But it also becomes our identity, and yea... after not surfing for a long time, you start to wonder who you are. Fortunately, those questions are answered the next time you get wet.
I hear ya. Like... anybody who's Insta has more pics of themselves then the world around them makes me wonder...
Excellent article. Hits home. Thanks for sharing. Many often don't understand that it's the journey. Enjoy the journey. You don't have to be a pro at everything. I've seen boys not wanting to participate in a sport if they can't be an expert right out of the box. The parents, living vicariously through their kids achievements, can be a big part of the problem I started a number of things later in life -after 30...I'm now 63: windsurfing, rollerblading and ice skating (broke an ankle doing so, Filipino martial arts, playing the banjo, relearning German, and surfing. I enjoyed these things but sucked at most of them.
Didn't read the article but this is pretty spot on. I played many sports growing up, transitioned to just judo and surfing. I had fun with judo but i got to the point where i would of had to get really serious about it to keep going up. Got second in the state, first went to nationals. Guy who got first took it waaaaaay more serious (training 3 times a day all week, i trained 2 nights a week). Surfing is diffrent as im not competing. I take it seriously enough to continue improving and dial in equipment. Which makes it fun. And at the end of the day it is all for fun. At times I'll take it to seriously or not seriously enough. I'll either have to relax and get back to the fun or start finding new ways to push myself. It's all about balance
Something that stuck out from the article: "When your identity is linked to your hobby — you’re a yogi, a surfer, a rock climber — you’d better be good at it, or else who are you?" I don't think it is a good thing when our identity is too tightly coupled to (based on) what we do or what we have... these are temporal things that can change, sometimes rapidly, and often much to our dismay. My experience and beliefs have led me to understand that our identity and purpose are much deeper, and instilled from eternity. When we realize this and are able to tap into this, we find greater joy and peace in what we do and what we have, and in our circumstances.
Nice, C'Dog... I heard a pro basketball player say, "basketball is what I do, not who I am." I liked that.
The Cdog brings up a good point. Folks are always searching for an identity. I dont think I really have one? Maybe father and husband. I surf but does that mean I am a "surfer". Never real thought about it until now.
I think this is where things hazy. Stereotype sort of thing. I don't look or act like a surfer outside of the water. Now i realize there is no real surfer "look" but im talking general publics views here. I check the waves everyday, am constantly looking forward to the next sesh, save my PTO for good days of waves or surf trips. To me that does make me a surfer, but it's not my identity. I guess the bigger question is what is an identity? How others view you? If so, then it's not my identity at all. No one knows how much of my day is spent planning or thinking about surfing.... or that i surf at all unless they know me well. Is an identity how you view yourself? If so, then yeah i guess surfer is part of my identity. But again, it depends on your definition of identity. Im much more than just a surfer. It's a big part of who i am and how i live my life for sure, but that's because i enjoy it. It doesn't define me. Does that mean my identity is "likes to do things he has fun doing"? After re reading my rambling, iv come to a conclusion. Who freaking cares. We all do what we do. If your searching for a label or identity, your doing it wrong.
I think of my identity as internal... how I see my self for who I am. A big part of that is being a "surfer" not because I identify with others who surf or the larger surf culture or community, but because it's a big part of what drives what I do every day. I can't separate that out of my life, and I see myself as a surfer. So yea... you're right. I don't like that my identity is a surfer, but it just is. And that's why I start to question who I am if I don't surf for a long time. It just is... and I accept that as something that's not necessarily a good thing.
An “identity” is just that: a vision of yourself as seen by yourself or others. We take comfort in them ourselves sometimes because it makes us feel like we have some kind of purpose and place - but that’s only if we NEED to feel those things. When you do things for yourself purely for the love of them then that’s just part of who you are - those things don’t define you. When they define you, you are no longer an individual, your a “ “ just to fit in. Funny thing? I really don’t get the sense that many swellies define themselves as “surfers” - their ALOT of things at once and I believe the surfing is the glue that balances all of it for each one. There’s too many people here whO CONSTANTLY surprise me with different levels of being, to just be “surfers”
Yesterday I was a bow hunter. Today, I'm a hole digger. Tomorrow AM, I'm a soccer coach. Tomorrow PM, I'm a mountain biker (if it aint raining to hard) Sunday I might just be a surfer.
It's funny when I think about it. I'd probably say I was a "surfer" when I was younger and traveling a ton with friends just to surf. Meeting the boys at the beach surfing and hanging out all day. Now I'm just a dude that surfs. Now I still surf, but usaually without the friends. Haven't been on a "surf trip" in a while. I still surf when I travel, but other things are involved now.. I think it's just because I'm less selfish now. I really enjoy paddling around on the soft top with my son laughing and screaming more than I do surfing alone. Hopefully he gets the bug and we can both become "surfers" as he grows. Next summer I'll get the baby out there so I'll have 2 shots at it.
