Life lessons from wakeboarding

Many of life's most important lessons can be learnt through sports. The value of forgiveness, the power of positive thinking, practice (preparation) and coaching, working as a team, the significance of one's action, and more, are all portrayed in the sports world.

Here are some life lessons we can learn from wakeboarding.

Maintain a positive mindset.?

If you have even a speck of doubt or anxiety at the start, it will impair your performance. If you are psychologically or emotionally hesitant, half the battle is already lost in wakeboarding and other life undertakings. Believe in yourself and be positive, and never doubt your ability to float on water.?

And maintaining a positive mindset gives you more courage to keep at it and persist as changes happen.?

Select the most appropriate equipment for you to succeed.?

You have an optimal wakeboard size and weight. If you are taller, you might prefer the larger, heavier wakeboard. Whatever your endeavour, you must select the appropriate equipment, accessories, or gadgets.

Be physically fit and agile.?

Preparation is essential in almost every aspect of life.?

Maintaining a regular exercises regimen can become the foundation of your self-confidence as you prepare your body and mind for the rigours of the sport; like life, knowing what you need to succeed is crucial.?Similarly, the need for essential overall strength, endurance, and flexibility are crucial to help you with constant crouching, repeatedly bending of your knees, and maintaining a firm grip of the handle against the force of the waves.

Listen and follow instructions and directions.?

It is really important to listen to your boat crew and your instructor.?The instructor will teach you the fundamental rules and rudiments of wakeboarding and the dos and don'ts.?And during your ride, the boat crew and the instructor will guide you to maximise your wakeboarding experience as they monitor your performance. Similarly, we perform better and faster from listening, paying attention to recommendations and acting on them in life.?

Master the art of balancing.?

If you stand straight, you will fall into the water, and if you crouch too low, you will sink.?Balance is one of the most critical things in wakeboarding, where you are constantly making corrections to your body movements and weight to smoothly right above the water.?In life, mastering the art of balance is also crucial.?In cybersecurity, we balance risk versus business friction. In program management, the balance is business operational readiness versus time to market. In life, it is about balancing time for work and family and loved ones and so on.?It is about finding the right balance in all things that we do.

Practice, practice, practice.

Many of you have heard that practice makes perfect.?I have a little twist to this statement, and that is perfect practice makes perfect.?When you practise something incorrectly, it will still go wrong. So it is crucial to get the foundation, techniques and approaches right in your practice so that you are practising the elements to maximise your success.

Anyway, back to wakeboarding, the more you practice and gain experience, you will feel more confident as you learn the sport and the movement of the water to synchronise your body responses to maintain your balance for a smooth ride.

Hence, perfect practice makes perfect.

Pay attention.?

Staying focused is essential to achieving your goals in life, no matter what they are. Allow your body to become one with the wakeboard. (Sounds like a quotation from Star Wars, "be one with the force").?Concentrate and be mindful of your responses as you negotiate the waves while surfing to maintain that perfect balance skimming the water at a very high speed. These are essential for success.

Have fun in the process.

This is probably the most important criterion for a beginner at wakeboarding.?Because if you are not having fun, you will give up after your first try.??

In life, we need to do what we love and love what we do.?It is one of the best formulas to maintain motivation and keep us moving forward at the task at hand.??

When you start to drag yourself out of bed to work, that is the time to review and look for a change.

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