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
Once you accept that there’s always more to learn, you’ll start to welcome feedback—especially from those more experienced than you.
One of the trickiest parts of surfing is that how something feels in your body can be totally different from how it looks. Sure, feeling is important (arguably the most important for some of us), but if your goal is to ride longer, better waves, learning proper technique helps.
The ultimate goal of surfing is, of course, to have fun. And generally speaking, the more time you spend riding waves, the more fun you’re having. That often means staying near the breaking point of the wave and mastering turns and maneuvers to stay in the pocket longer.
Whether or not you want to philosophize about it, if you’re aiming to improve, stay humble. Listen. Ask questions. Apply advice.
3. Mess Up, Then Paddle Back Out
Sometimes your expectations won’t match your ability. Maybe you’re ready to practice cutbacks, but you can’t even stick your takeoffs today. That’s normal. I’ve been there more times than I can count.
It’s easy to get discouraged, especially if you’re holding onto expectations. But the only way to improve? Keep showing up. Try again. And again.
After a fall or a missed wave, ask yourself what you could’ve done differently. Or better yet, ask someone else who saw it. Then paddle back out. Don’t give up.
Progress is built on repetition and experience. Don’t let frustration be the reason you call it a day. Leave the water when you’re genuinely done—when your arms are noodles or the tide’s pushing you onto dry sand.
4. Don’t Take Yourself So Seriously
At the end of the day, it’s about having fun.
Laugh when you wipe out. Celebrate when you catch a good one. Try, but don’t force it. Let it flow. 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.
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