The Bigger the Wave, the Louder the Voice

You choose who wins in your story

I’ve spent a lot of time training and preparing for the larger waves that can hit Puerto Rico in the winter. One such wave is in the picture below. I’ve learned a lot about surfing, but many of those lessons can also be applied to life

On a solid wave in Puerto Rico

One of those lessons is: the bigger the wave, the louder the negative voice.

Anyone who has ever done any type of strenuous physical activity, whether surfing, running, yoga, or pumping weights knows this voice, and the harder the activity gets, the louder the voice gets.

At some point, maybe when looking at the waves from the shore, or feeling the power of a wall of white water the size of a building hitting me, or when seeing mountains of water coming at me while I’m bobbing around on this little plank in the middle of the ocean, or after getting lit up on the inside by a set (which means a lot of big waves crashing on top of you), eventually the negative voice will get really loud.

For me, when I’m out there, it goes something like this:

“What am I doing here?!?!”

“Why are you even doing this? What’s the point?”

“You have nothing to prove.”

“Why do I choose to do this?????”

“Literally, what the f**k Nat?????”

“Just go in [to the shore].” Or “Now you have to catch one of these monsters just to get in!?!?!”

“How did I get here? Why?”

“Maybe this is the end. I don’t know if I’m going to make it.”

“Why.”

So what does this have to do with life? This is the negative voice that is often whispering to you.  It’s the enemy of you accomplishing what is in your heart to do, and moving forward in your life. It’s telling you all the reasons to quit, to stay or go back to your comfort zone, to stay in what is familiar.