I recently came across the ‘surfer’s mentality’ and it shifted something in me.

When a surfer gets up on a wave, they’re not thinking about how long it will last. They enjoy the present moment, despite knowing it will eventually end, and might even crash down on them. They ride it anyway, because they know and accept that there will always be more waves to come.

What struck me was how deeply this applies to life. We’re constantly met with waves, of joy, of fear, of clarity, of grief. Each one rises, peaks, and eventually, passes. And just like the surfer, we can’t control them. But what we can do is choose how we meet them, surrendering to the truth that nothing — good or bad — lasts forever, so we might as well embrace the moment.

But perhaps, the hardest part isn’t actually riding the wave. It’s gaining the courage to leave the shore.

So many of us spend our lives waiting… for the perfect moment, the perfect feeling, the perfect wave. But we’ll never taste the richness of being alive if we never step into the water.

At some point, we have to dive in, uncertain, exposed, and be willing to rise and fall with whatever comes. That’s where life will meet us.

You don’t have to be ready. You just have to begin. So… what are you waiting for?

– Inspired by the words of Sahil Bloom –