Improve your Surfing Mindset

When You Improve in Surfing, You Improve in Life.

There are endless resources online showing you how to improve your surfing—techniques, tutorials, training tips, you name it. And while those are helpful, they won’t get you far without the right mindset. So let’s talk about that. Because when you shift your mindset to improve your surfing, you’re also unlocking a framework for learning and growing in every area of life.

1. Drop Your Ego

Let’s be clear: by “ego,” we’re talking about that inflated sense of self—the arrogance, the need to prove yourself, or the belief that others are paying more attention to your performance than they actually are.

This might sound harsh. Maybe you don’t think you have an ego at all. But really, it’s about accepting where you’re at, without comparing, without judgment, and without worrying about how “good” or “bad” you are. There are beginners, pros, weekend warriors, and lifelong enthusiasts out there—you fall somewhere along that spectrum, and that’s perfectly okay.

To learn anything—surfing or otherwise—you have to start from a place of openness. You can’t grow if you think you already know it all. And if you’re content with where you’re at and don’t care to improve, that’s also totally fine. You can probably stop reading here.

2. Stay Open to Advice

If you’ve gotten past the fact that there’s always more to learn, and realised that there’s plenty of people out there better than you are, than you’ll be more open to feedback when it comes your way.  

The hardest part about surfing is that it might feel like you’re doing one thing, (and it might feel good), but what you’re actually doing is something totally different.  Having the right technique in everything from popping up, to turning or nose riding really just gives us the ability to catch more waves, ride them for longer and, debatably, have more and more fun in doing so.  The only way to know if you have the right technique is to either see yourself surfing through video (preferably) or photos, or ask someone else!  Don’t be afraid to turn to your friend or partner in the water and ask them if they saw your last wave.  Was there anything you could’ve done differently – especially if you fell, didn’t make a section, or even think you did a nice turn?    

Of course, not all advice comes in warmly and welcomed from people you trust.  Understandably, it can get frustrating if in fact, it’s unwelcome and you’re just trying to enjoy some time in the water.  There’s always a time and a place – and if you’re not asking for it but advice is coming your way anyways, politely say “thanks, I’ll keep it in mind for next time, but today I’m just out here having fun” and let it go. If you’re letting it upset you, maybe reflect on the reasons why.  Are you staying open?  Are you simply content with where you’re at and not looking to improve?  And if you do want to improve, then what’s rubbing you the wrong way?   

Remember, stay humble.  Listen to advice and seek opportunities where you can learn from someone else, or even from watching yourself.  

3. Mess Up, Then Paddle Back Out

Sometimes our expectations exceed our abilities.  We’re excited to try a cutback, and then don’t even get the opportunity because you’re falling on every take off.  I’ve been there time and time again throughout my surfing life.  It’s easy to get discouraged or disappointed in yourself if you’re attached to expectations.  But the best way to learn and improve?  Keep trying.  Over and over and over again.  And keep falling! If you’re not falling, you’re probably not improving – it’s part of the process. After a fall or a “bad” wave, ask yourself what you possibly could’ve done better.  Or better yet, ask whoever you’re surfing with. Then turn around, and paddle out again.  Don’t give up!  

Improving in surfing, or anything, is simply a matter of experience and repetition.  You’re cutting yourself short if you decide to get out due to disappointment or frustration.  Get out of the water when you’re genuinely finished – when your arms feel like noodles or you have somewhere else to be. 

4. Don’t Take Yourself So Seriously

While it’s great to improve, surfing is ultimately about having fun!

Laugh when you wipe out. Celebrate when you catch a good one. Try, but don’t force it. Let it flow, and enjoy the process!

5. Go, No Matter What

This one’s been the toughest for me lately. But it’s the most important.

Improvement requires experience—all types of experience. Windy days, glassy days, tiny waves, big waves, mushy, dumpy, warm, cold—it all counts. Every session adds to your foundation.

In life, we often wait for the “perfect conditions”—“I’ll start once I have this,” or “I’ll go when it’s 2-foot and clean.” But if you wait too long between surfs, you lose your rhythm. Improvement works like scaffolding: you build layer by layer. And the less time that passes between each session, the stronger that foundation becomes.