Me VS Me

After a 5 year hiatus, a baby, a wife, new house, job, dogs and just about everything everyone else in the word is going through I decided the time was right to do something stupid. Okay maybe not stupid but definitely not the most rational thing one could do at 41 years old, I decided to return to competitive surfing for half a season and try my skills at gaining a spot on the world tour (http://www.aspworldtour.com/2009/).

For those of you who know me, you know I have ridden this wave before. I was lucky enough to have competed on the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals ) world tour in the past where I traveled the world for a few years pursuing an elusive world championship. On my journey’s I met some fantastic people, saw unbelievable places, had many amazing experience and gained a skills that help to define the person I am today. Along the way I had my share of successes and more than my share of failures, but all in all, I had some of the best times of my life surfing on the tour and to be honest I miss it. This time around it is a little different for me. I have no sponsors, no deadlines, no travel plans and I have no one to answer to but myself. I am not doing this to become famous, prove anything or try to make a name. I have all the fame I need, I have proven what I needed to and I like the name I have earned for myself. Why am I doing this???

I am doing it for me, to become better at all things this time it is me verses me.

Sport at any level forces us to commit. Commitment is a hard thing to wrap your head around until you distill it down its core elements and sports are a great way to do that. In competitive sports there is only one thing that matters, winning. Now winning in it self can be sort of ambiguous since it means different things to each of us. Winning can be achieving a goal of competing or even just participating, winning can be hitting a time or a high score…or winning can be taking it all and being the best. For me it is about winning and nothing else. I want to win and I enjoy winning.

I know I am not the best, but I also know I am not the worst knowing this gives me an advantage. The best thing about surfing is that the day defines the champion. Being prepared for whatever the ocean, Mother Nature or the environment throws at you, makes you a contender. It is a subjective sport and it is an emotional sport with history, personalities and challenges. Much like life. Our family life, professional lives and social lives are all so littered with variables its amazing we survive. Life is rarely objective and seems to be always subjective. We are driven by our emotions, guided by our history, persuaded by personalities and confront the challenges that never seem to end.

So at 41 I’m going for it. This is my competitive environment, the place where I get to come face to face with myself and engage the commitment, the honesty and reality of competition. This is where I go for my mental tune up, a refresher on life and get my head back in the game.

This time it is me verses me and may the best man win.