Have you ever had something you deemed yourself “not good at” or “not for you”

When I was 21 I lived in Australia in a town *called* surfers paradise

While I lived there, I would watch all the surf hunks, but wouldn’t ever go surfing myself

For years after that I travelled to surf towns around the world, but never surfed.

“Oh me — I’m just here for the vibes, not the surf.”

When I was 26 I finally forced myself to take a lesson in Ecuador.

“Meh. Not for me.”

I took a few more lessons in the years that followed, but wasn’t into it. It never felt fun to me and lit me up, so I refused to keep trying to make my relationship with surfing happen. 

Even when I started going to Nosara and Pavones, Costa Rica every year, arguably two of the best surf destinations in the world, I refused to surf. 

And every time I refused, people would pressure me or question why I wasn’t surfing there. They couldn’t understand why I would visit places with great surf, but then not even want to try. 

That became a lesson in staying true to myself, and getting away from what I should do when I visit a certain place, versus what I actually like doing and what calls me there. 

Even when it comes to travel, we all can get caught into the expectations or projections of others and how we should or shouldn’t be doing something. 

And then something shifted. 

After my THIRD year and third time running the Reset Week retreat that consists of yoga, meditation, hiking, and clean living in Pavones, Costa Rica, with the *option* to surf…I decided to give it another go. 

On the Reset Week retreat, we have epic surf instructors come in and people on the retreat love the experience of learning with them. 

Seeing their shiny happy faces every year, and their rave reviews of our instructors Amy and Alex, I felt a pull to give it another go. 

So then, after 3 retreats of opting out, I opted in… and I learned to surf so that I can go into the ocean independently and have come to really enjoy the time in the water and the time on the board! 

So it’s been a lesson in divine timing and being open to change. 

For years, surfing didn’t feel good, fun or appealing and I needed to trust that, despite external pressure that I “should just try it again.”

But… I could have stayed stuck in the story that surfing wasn’t for me forever, or I could let myself change and evolve and be open to liking something I once didn’t.

If I had stayed in the story that “surfing isn’t for me” or “I’ve tried it — I don’t like it” indefinitely, it would have limited my experience of now really enjoying it and having a fun activity to do when I travel and with my partner.

We all get caught in these stories, of what we should do, won’t do, do, or don’t like, and it’s always a healthy exercise to check in with ourselves to double check: “Is this true for me now?”

We all evolve and change. Let yourself be open to something new.

It’s also an example of divine timing. 

Things happen for us or weave into our lives when they are supposed to. 

At this stage in my life, surfing feels fun and adds more joy to my life, but for years, life and travelling without this activity did did too. 

Now I love being able to play around on the board and paddle out at sunset with my friends just like I used to watch others now. 

I spend more and more time in Nosara and Pavones, and it’s nice to have a choice of a number of different activities to do there, which now includes surfing. 

I also now have a partner who also likes surfing so it’s a fun activity for us when we’re travelling.

It’s an example to TRUST what you like, and to not get sucked into the “shoulds” but also being open to rigid ideas of what you like and don’t like to shift

If you want to learn how to surf, or otherwise just spend time reseting on a mind, body and spirit level, I would love for you to join Reset Week February 19–26, 2022 in Pavones, Costa Rica. All the details can be found here.