Welcome to my website, Selling From The Heart collaborators! Thank you so much for watching/listening to our conversation about Midlife transitions, the idea behind Midlife Peak Performance, and what it means to Redefine Peak Performance at this stage of life.
As we get started here, if there is a part of conversation you wish to continue, ask a question, or explore opportunities to collaborate, let's make that happen via a call - please schedule a time HERE.
As mentioned during the podcast, I created this space for us to continue our journey together, share resources, and stay in touch. With that, let's jump in...
A Few Favorite Podcasts Conversations About High Performance
Navigating The River Of Life (The Kintsugi Podcast) - Listen on Apple Podcasts; Watch on YouTube
How To Win Gold By Aiming For The Rocks (The Unlock Moment Podcast) - Listen on Apple Podcasts
Navigating Transitions (The Soloist Life Podcast) - Listen and Read Shownotes at the Host's Website
A Few Favorite Books About Midlife (Including all the books we discussed on the podcast)
Falling Upward by Richard Rohr
Strength To Strength by Arthur Brooks
The Middle Passage by James Hollis
The Second Mountain by David Brooks
A Few Favorite Books About High Performance
The Power Of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr
Range by David Epstein
Peak Performance by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness
Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy (Larry Levine's recommendation)
Of course😀, Slalom: 6 River Classes About How To Confront Obstacles, Advance Amid Uncertainty, & Bring Focus To What Matters Most by Joe Jacobi
My Journaling Framework
This journaling practice is the longest standing reflective exercise in my life. This practice began as my Training Log following my very first practice session with the athletes and coaches of the United States Canoe/Kayak national team when I was 12 years-old... And more than 40 years later, the structure of that Training Log is now my journaling framework and remains a fundamental part of my growth and evolution. See the full framework and instructions about how to get started --> HERE.
Reflective Questions I'm Asking Myself These Days
About testing current beliefs: Could the opposite be true?
About Process Orientation: How could I enjoy this a little more?
About Value Orientation: Is the world asking this of me? Or is my life asking this of me?
Connecting With Me..
The easiest way to connect and benefit from my approach to my own redefined version High Performance is throughThinking In Waves. my short weekly essays that transfer lessons learned and strategies from surfing these offshore waves to an innovative model for clear and creative thinking. Readers love it and now is a great time to join us. Easy to subscribe --> HERE.
For a visual look into these essays and what the acquisition of Free Energy looks like in real time, check out the video below that I made while surfing waves this past summer in Llançà on the Costa Brava.
About my coaching collaborations and working with Midlife transitions, I believe in the leverage of the opportunities and adventures we can create together here in Catalunya's incredible nature.
From rivers and trails in the mountains (including the 1992 Olympic canoeing venue where I live in La Seu d'Urgell) to the waves and coves in the sea on the Costa Brava, we could not ask for a more ideal setting to reset your next chapter of Midlife Peak Performance and practice the accompanying skills, mindsets, and actions through experiential learning in the outdoors.
Whether in a 1-1 format, a group you create, or one my adventure coaching retreats, we can design a collaboration in which you will disconnect from your current routine, immerse in a new and different environment, and transform your approach to performance with connection, kindness, and impact. Easy to explore fit and alignment --> HERE.
Finally, my website here is a great place to find more of my essays and conversations as well as all of my social links. (Most active on LinkedIn.)
And please email me any time at Joe@JoeJacobi.com
Also, I shared a fun video reel from a recent downwind adventure that shows a wider perspective of this amazing activity. Watch on Instagram --> HERE
Thank you and look forward to connecting in the mountains or at the sea!
Joe Jacobi
Olympic Gold Medalist, Performance Coach & Author
Follow Your Flow, Achieve Impacting Wins, & Ride Spectacular Life Waves
Ready to position the art of surfing waves as a process for deep reflection and meaningful life transitions?
Subscribe to Thinking In Waves, my short weekly essay about the lessons and experiences that I learn surfing offshore waves on a surfski kayak transferred to an innovative model for clear thinking and better choices <— Short, fun, and memorable - new riders are always welcome!
Welcome to my website, Selling From The Heart collaborators! Thank you so much for watching/listening to our conversation about Midlife transitions, the idea behind Midlife Peak Performance, and what it means to Redefine Peak Performance at this stage of life.
As we get started here, if there is a part of conversation you wish to continue, ask a question, or explore opportunities to collaborate, let's make that happen via a call - please schedule a time HERE.
As mentioned during the podcast, I created this space for us to continue our journey together, share resources, and stay in touch. With that, let's jump in...
A Few Favorite Podcasts Conversations About High Performance
Navigating The River Of Life (The Kintsugi Podcast) - Listen on Apple Podcasts; Watch on YouTube
How To Win Gold By Aiming For The Rocks (The Unlock Moment Podcast) - Listen on Apple Podcasts
Navigating Transitions (The Soloist Life Podcast) - Listen and Read Shownotes at the Host's Website
A Few Favorite Books About Midlife (Including all the books we discussed on the podcast)
Falling Upward by Richard Rohr
Strength To Strength by Arthur Brooks
The Middle Passage by James Hollis
The Second Mountain by David Brooks
A Few Favorite Books About High Performance
The Power Of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr
Range by David Epstein
Peak Performance by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness
Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy (Larry Levine's recommendation)
Of course😀, Slalom: 6 River Classes About How To Confront Obstacles, Advance Amid Uncertainty, & Bring Focus To What Matters Most by Joe Jacobi
My Journaling Framework
This journaling practice is the longest standing reflective exercise in my life. This practice began as my Training Log following my very first practice session with the athletes and coaches of the United States Canoe/Kayak national team when I was 12 years-old... And more than 40 years later, the structure of that Training Log is now my journaling framework and remains a fundamental part of my growth and evolution. See the full framework and instructions about how to get started --> HERE.
Reflective Questions I'm Asking Myself These Days
About testing current beliefs: Could the opposite be true?
About Process Orientation: How could I enjoy this a little more?
About Value Orientation: Is the world asking this of me? Or is my life asking this of me?
Connecting With Me..
The easiest way to connect and benefit from my approach to my own redefined version High Performance is throughThinking In Waves. my short weekly essays that transfer lessons learned and strategies from surfing these offshore waves to an innovative model for clear and creative thinking. Readers love it and now is a great time to join us. Easy to subscribe --> HERE.
For a visual look into these essays and what the acquisition of Free Energy looks like in real time, check out the video below that I made while surfing waves this past summer in Llançà on the Costa Brava.
About my coaching collaborations and working with Midlife transitions, I believe in the leverage of the opportunities and adventures we can create together here in Catalunya's incredible nature.
From rivers and trails in the mountains (including the 1992 Olympic canoeing venue where I live in La Seu d'Urgell) to the waves and coves in the sea on the Costa Brava, we could not ask for a more ideal setting to reset your next chapter of Midlife Peak Performance and practice the accompanying skills, mindsets, and actions through experiential learning in the outdoors.
Whether in a 1-1 format, a group you create, or one my adventure coaching retreats, we can design a collaboration in which you will disconnect from your current routine, immerse in a new and different environment, and transform your approach to performance with connection, kindness, and impact. Easy to explore fit and alignment --> HERE.
Finally, my website here is a great place to find more of my essays and conversations as well as all of my social links. (Most active on LinkedIn.)
And please email me any time at Joe@JoeJacobi.com
Also, I shared a fun video reel from a recent downwind adventure that shows a wider perspective of this amazing activity. Watch on Instagram --> HERE
Thank you and look forward to connecting in the mountains or at the sea!
Joe Jacobi
Olympic Gold Medalist, Performance Coach & Author
Unlock Your Why, Achieve Impacting Wins, & Ride Spectacular Life Waves
Ready to position the art of surfing waves as a process for deep reflection and meaningful life transitions?
Subscribe to Thinking In Waves, my short weekly essay about the lessons and experiences that I learn surfing offshore waves on a surfski kayak transferred to an innovative model for clear thinking and better choices <— Short, fun, and memorable - new riders are always welcome!
It's not uncommon for a new paddler on a surfski to be unsure about how successful they are at catching a wave.
While there are a few ways to gain this understanding, my favorite is not a technique - it’s a sound from the surfski.
To imagine this sound, think of the last bit of water in a bathtub going into the drain - that low to high pitch sound that the water makes during the final few seconds.
Similarly, as you catch a Wave on the surfski and acquire Free Energy, the increase in speed quickly drains any remaining water from the boat, which makes a distinctive sound like this:
Sluuuurrrrpppp!
This is one of the most beautiful sounds to hear when at sea.
— — — —
“I look at the photos and of course the landscape is beautiful,” he explains.
“But they just don’t capture the aliveness I was feeling in the moment.”
That second line stops me… and moves me.
"The aliveness I was feeling in the moment."
If this feeling has a sound, it sounds like this:
Sluuuurrrrpppp!
— — — —
More than 10 years into this style of writing, I often wonder about its impact on readers. On you. Your pursuits. Your resistance. Your growth.
The quote above was from Randy, a Thinking In Waves reader from Day 1, longtime advocate for my writing, fellow adventurer, and friend. He shared these words during our conversation last week - a conversation about gratitude, goals, and generosity that started in 2017 and continues today.
What exactly did Randy's photos miss?
All of the:
Planning
Preparation
Incremental progress
Patience
Small details and
Connection
That framed his three-week, 600-mile bicyle journey around southern Spain
Completed recently
Solo
At 67 years old.
Like the beautiful photos, to focus on the finish line would miss something.
The aliveness that brings an intense feeling to the moment,
Which opens the path to the better version of yourself that you are becoming,
Clearly signaling that you are surfing your own spectacular Life Wave -
Sluuuurrrrpppp!
— — — —
From a small step towards a new project
Or a grand adventure,
Notice what
Moves
Excites
Challenges
Changes and
Awakens
The Wave of Aliveness.
Don't search for it..
Simply follow it.
And listen for
Sluuuurrrrpppp!
With gratitude, Joe
PS - A fun connecting point between Randy's route and these essays is that Randy cycled through town of Tarifa, our favorite place in the world to surf waves and the home of our surfski coach, Boyan, whose philosophy about surfing is the foundation of Thinking In Waves. While in Tarifa, Randy ventured out to the point where the Atlantic and Mediterranean come together, a beautiful spot from which to watch some amazing kitesurfers.
I am grateful to all of you who apply even the smallest pieces of Thinking In Waves to your pursuits growth, connection, and aliveness. In that spirit, I'm sharing a favorite photo from Randy's album here:
Joe Jacobi
Olympic Gold Medalist, Performance Coach & Author
Follow Your Flow, Achieve Impacting Wins, & Ride Spectacular Life Waves
Ready to position the art of surfing waves as a process for deep reflection and meaningful life transitions?
Subscribe to Thinking In Waves, my short weekly essay about the lessons and experiences that I learn surfing offshore waves on a surfski kayak transferred to an innovative model for clear thinking and better choices <— Short, fun, and memorable - new riders are always welcome!
What a pleasure to spend the evening with you, EO Barcelona! I moltes gràcies, Alessio, for the kind invitation.
As we get started here, if there is a part of conversation you wish to continue, ask a question, or explore opportunities to collaborate, let's make that happen via a call - please schedule a time HERE.
As mentioned during the program, I created this space for us to continue the journey of Redefining High Performance, share resources, and stay in touch. With that, let's jump in...
A Few Favorite Podcasts Conversations About High Performance
Navigating The River Of Life (The Kintsugi Podcast) - Listen on Apple Podcasts; Watch on YouTube
How To Win Gold By Aiming For The Rocks (The Unlock Moment Podcast) - Listen on Apple Podcasts
Navigating Transitions (The Soloist Life Podcast) - Listen and Read Shownotes at the Host's Website
A Few Favorite Books About High Performance
The Power Of Full Engagement by Jim Loehr
Range by David Epstein
Peak Performance by Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness
Think Again by Adam Grant
Quit by Annie Duke
Of course😀, Slalom: 6 River Classes About How To Confront Obstacles, Advance Amid Uncertainty, & Bring Focus To What Matters Most by Joe Jacobi
My Journaling Framework
This journaling practice is the longest standing reflective exercise in my life. This practice began as my Training Log following my very first practice session with the athletes and coaches of the United States Canoe/Kayak national team when I was 12 years-old... And more than 40 years later, the structure of that Training Log is now my journaling framework and remains a fundamental part of my growth and evolution. See the full framework and instructions about how to get started --> HERE.
Reflective Questions I'm Asking Myself These Days
About testing current beliefs: Could the opposite be true?
About Process Orientation: How could I enjoy this a little more?
About Value Orientation: Is the world asking this of me? Or is my life asking this of me?
Connecting With Me..
The easiest way to connect and benefit from my approach to my own redefined version High Performance is throughThinking In Waves. my short weekly essays that transfer lessons learned and strategies from surfing these offshore waves to an innovative model for clear and creative thinking. Readers love it and now is a great time to join us. Easy to subscribe --> HERE.
For a visual look into these essays and what the acquisition of Free Energy looks like in real time, check out the video below that I made while surfing waves this past summer in Llançà on the Costa Brava.
About my coaching collaborations, after spending the evening with me in Barcelona, you have a strong sense about how I feel about the opportunities and adventures we can create together here in Catalunya's incredible nature.
From rivers and trails in the mountains (including the 1992 Olympic canoeing venue where I live in La Seu d'Urgell) to the waves and coves in the sea on the Costa Brava, we could not ask for a more ideal setting to reset your next chapter of High Performance and practice the accompanying skills, mindsets, and actions through experiential learning in the outdoors.
As you are already living here, we can get creative in designing a collaboration for you or a team in which you lead and/or contribute. Easy to explore fit and alignment --> HERE.
Finally, my website here is a great place to find more of my essays and conversations as well as all of my social links. (Most active on LinkedIn.)
And please email me any time at Joe@JoeJacobi.com
Also, I shared a fun video reel from a recent downwind adventure that shows a wider perspective of this amazing activity. Watch on Instagram --> HERE
Thank you and look forward to connecting in the mountains or at the sea!
Joe Jacobi
Olympic Gold Medalist, Performance Coach & Author
Unlock Your Why, Achieve Impacting Wins, & Ride Spectacular Life Waves
Ready to position the art of surfing waves as a process for deep reflection and meaningful life transitions?
Subscribe to Thinking In Waves, my short weekly essay about the lessons and experiences that I learn surfing offshore waves on a surfski kayak transferred to an innovative model for clear thinking and better choices <— Short, fun, and memorable - new riders are always welcome!
Six and half years ago this week, I was in good physical shape.
In the previous 14 months, I had run three marathons, all comfortably under 3 1/2 hours. This included the Boston Marathon, which I had just completed six weeks earlier.
So when I lined up at the start of the Arruix Santa Fe in 2019, one of the spectacular mountain trail running races in the region of Catalunya where I live, my confidence was high.
The course covered 2 1/2 miles in distance and climbed 2,200 feet in elevation.
At the finish line, I felt even better -
Upon passing through the tiny one-room church made of stone atop the mountain where the race ends,
39 minutes and 1 second had elapsed since departing the village of Organyà at the bottom of the valley from where we started.
Unbeknownst to me, the week of this race would commence a new period of running that would have a profound impact on my life -
No technology on my runs.
No technology means:
No Phone
No Watch
No Heart Rate Monitor
No Smart Clothes and
No AirPods, podcasts nor music.
No technology during that week was fun.
And then,
It became interesting.
Tech-free running came to mean:
Attention to Nature and
Attention to my thoughts.
Three years later, I arrived
On the same start to run the same course
And still doing every single run session
Free of all technology.
My participation in the 2022 Arruix Santa Fe led to 3 Years & 6 Seconds, a favorite essay that I wrote
Exploring the freedom, agility, and simplicity one achieves
When conceding some performance gain -
6 seconds slower over 3 years in my case -
In exchange for
Letting Go of
The intense craving for and compounding weight of
Measuring and consuming data and metrics.
This feels like
An irresistible deal
Except…
I was wrong.
Specifically, about the concession of performance.
This past weekend,
3 years since my last Arruix Santa Fe
6 years since starting this experiment of running free of technology
Marathon training many years behind me and
Fully feeling all of my 55 years,
I started Arruix Santa Fe
And arrived at its beautiful finish line,
5 seconds
Faster
Than my previous best time in 2019.
Technology leads us to believe that
Improving Performance
Does not work like this.
And I do not believe that this trend can continue...
Nor I do care if it does.
But my unique experience
Shapes three post-race take-aways worthy of reflection:
1) Free Energy By Subtraction: Free Energy exists not only on the Wave but in the removal of resistance that restricts access to the Wave including systems, frameworks, and beliefs that were previously wired into us but no longer serve us.
2) Better Basic Speed Expands Opportunity: All of us have our own unique All Day/Every Day speed. The effort to improve this capacity is SO worth it AND requires NO TECHNOLOGY. Even just a little more Basic Speed brings new Waves into our world that we did not even know existed.
3) Connection > Technology: I will never say that technology does not have a place in sport, business, or life. But letting go of the insanely gripping control that we allow technology to have over our lives opens space for something much more powerful --> Connection. Yes, Connection to others and Connection to Nature but above all, Connection to ourselves.
If it were up to technology,
Every improvement in life
Would associate with an element of measurement against, comparison to, or validation by someone or something else.
What technology can not see is
Our own unique Wave. And the Free Energy it yields.
But, technology is getting undeniably better
At distracting, obstructing, and redirecting
Our attention
Away from this Wave.
The best acquisition of
Free Energy
Happens when
Attention is recovered
As a result of
Dropping the resistance.
5 Seconds worth...
Over 6 Years...
An irresistible deal.
With gratitude, Joe
PS - The people, the course, and the spirit... there is no other mountain trail running race that matches the ambiance of Arruix Santa Fe. For a closer look...
Watch the start to this year's 2025 race in the Catalan village of Organyà and after 2,200 feet of climbing, my finish line experience on this Instagram Reel --> HERE
Read 3 Years & 6 Seconds, the essay that preceded and built upon this one --> HERE
Joe Jacobi
Olympic Gold Medalist, Performance Coach & Author
Unlock Your Why, Achieve Impacting Wins, & Ride Spectacular Life Waves
Ready to position the art of surfing waves as a process for deep reflection and meaningful life transitions?
Subscribe to Thinking In Waves, my short weekly essay about the lessons and experiences that I learn surfing offshore waves on a surfski kayak transferred to an innovative model for clear thinking and better choices <— Short, fun, and memorable - new riders are always welcome!
What is the next right move?
Next year? Next month? Next week? Today?
As nobody wants to get this wrong,
The question has the power to:
Raise doubt
Increase resistance and
Push back
Because
When we consider this question
While rushing through life and
Striving on autopilot,
A gap is created between
Where we are
And
Where we think we should be.
And to our detriment,
Overreaching for "Should"
Does not reveal
A great next right move.
Adding more weight and drag to
Our efforts to reduce this gap...
The noise-makers
Run their playbook to
Strategically induce
Anything
Into this gap
That expands discomfort, fear, and uncertainty…
Which leaves us with
Less vision
More grip and
Pushing even harder.
The result?
Something between
An obstructed view
And the disappearance of
The Wave
That exists around us.
Before giving in
To the pressure of
Getting the next thing right,
What if we pause and
See the Wave
That is already here.
Even if this Wave appears to be nothingness,
Its Free Energy
Is
Overlooked
Underutilized and
Incapable of
Guilting us
Into doing more
Or
Not doing enough.
This pause is an opportunity to
Explore
Experiment and
Enjoy
The Wave that is here now
Which naturally sets up
The Next Right Move
With gratitude, Joe
Joe Jacobi
Olympic Gold Medalist, Performance Coach & Author
Unlock Your Why, Achieve Impacting Wins, & Ride Spectacular Life Waves
Ready to position the art of surfing waves as a process for deep reflection and meaningful life transitions?
Subscribe to Thinking In Waves, my short weekly essay about the lessons and experiences that I learn surfing offshore waves on a surfski kayak transferred to an innovative model for clear thinking and better choices <— Short, fun, and memorable - new riders are always welcome!
During our first training session with Coach Boyan, he shared with us his Step-by-Step process for surfing a wave. This not only improved our abilities in and enjoyment of surfing waves on the surfski but stimulated curiosity about how to ride better waves in Life, which has now been my focus for the past four years.
During this time, I have reflected and expanded upon Coach Boyan's process, which led to the development of the Wave Surfing Progression --> the progression that facilitates Spectacular Rides on Life Waves.
This framework not only supports the essays I publish in Thinking In Waves but has become one of the pillars of my Performance Coaching practice.
The Five Steps of the progression are:
Step 1: Basic Speed - Managing and replenishing All Day/Every Speed
- The idea of Managing Energy Over Managing Time lives here
- Within energy management, manage the replenishment of energy as much as the expenditure of energy
- Greater effectiveness in replenishing energy sets the stage to focus and direct energy with clarity and intensity
Step 2: Direction - A commitment to and focus on aiming for your desired outcome
- The development of and adherence to mission, values, and strategy live here
- The Surfer’s Direction is always more important than the direction of the winds and waves
Step 3: Wave Selection - The understanding and acceptance of letting the wrong waves pass by so that you can...
- Coach Boyan Wisdom --> Your best results in life won’t be determined by the waves you surf… the best results will be determined by the waves you let pass by.
Step 4: Surf The Wave - The nuance of positioning, agility, and technique within Life Waves that capture and apply Free Energy
- The top priority is to seek Equilibrium - which is not balance but an ideal position between two opposing forces, friction and gravity
- Boyan’s Golden Rule of Surfing lives here --> no matter what you want to do and where you want to go, surf the wave you are on to the best of your ability.
Step 5: Yeehah! - Recognize and celebrate the ride
With gratitude, Joe
Joe Jacobi
Olympic Gold Medalist, Performance Coach & Author
Unlock Your Why, Achieve Impacting Wins, & Ride Spectacular Life Waves
Ready to position the art of surfing waves as a process for deep reflection and meaningful life transitions?
Subscribe to Thinking In Waves, my short weekly essay about the lessons and experiences that I learn surfing offshore waves on a surfski kayak transferred to an innovative model for clear thinking and better choices <— Short, fun, and memorable - new riders are always welcome!
While I love podcast guesting and creating videos, nothing clarifies my deep beliefs about improving performance like writing.
Which is why I LOVE Sarah Johnson's interview format in her Curated Career Conversations.
It's always a pleasure to converse with Sarah and there are a lot of practical ideas and applications not only in the answers within this interview but in Sarah's questions too.
Read the full interview --> HERE.
Learn more about Sarah and Briefcase Coach --> HERE.
With gratitude, Joe
Joe Jacobi
Olympic Gold Medalist, Performance Coach & Author
Unlock Your Why, Achieve Impacting Wins, & Ride Spectacular Life Waves
Ready to position the art of surfing waves as a process for deep reflection and meaningful life transitions?
Subscribe to Thinking In Waves, my short weekly essay about the lessons and experiences that I learn surfing offshore waves on a surfski kayak transferred to an innovative model for clear thinking and better choices <— Short, fun, and memorable - new riders are always welcome!
Let’s do a Strategy Session here...
Because from time to time,
Life Waves move in unpredictable directions.
If improvement, growth, and transformation are going to underpin this journey,
Some Surf Strategy will help spectacular rides to be found in unexpected conditions.
So let's get started...
Imagine your desired Direction is North - like following your North Star.
And at this time, there are criss-crossing sets of waves…
One set of the waves is moving steady and predictably to the Northwest. The other to the Northeast.
Neither set is moving directly to where you want to go --> North
If you try to follow either set exclusively,
Not only will you be off-course,
But you will also be constantly intersecting the other wave set moving in the opposing direction
Which feels like
Resistance
Setbacks
Frustration.
So what to do?
Instead of giving up
Or giving in,
Let’s explore what happens
At the intersection of the opposing waves.
The intersection of two colliding waves
Is a disruption...
But also
An opportunity
Disguised in uncertainly and unpredictability.
A collision of contradicting waves
Fuses together a greater force of energy
Than either of the waves previously possessed on their own
Which results in the formation of a higher peak.
This peak is an opportunity to surf,
Link Waves from one peak to another,
And shift positions in a way that
Holds the desired Direction.
Contradictory waves in life can appear as a
A signal to retreat.
But when opposition in life shows up in:
Feedback
Ideas
Preferences
Training
Goals
Relationships
Perspectives,
These intersections --> these opportunities
Are worthy of exploration.
However, and here's the strategic take-away,
Such an intersection
Only becomes visible to the rider who
Aims For The Colliding Waves,
Which can feel as messy
As it does counterintuitive.
When these collisions are not avoided
Nor resisted,
A new kind of skilful surfing appears
Behind the peaks of these Life Waves
That yield an exciting kind of Free Energy
Without compromising on your Direction.
Aim For The Collision.
With gratitude, Joe
Joe Jacobi
Olympic Gold Medalist, Performance Coach & Author
Unlock Your Why, Achieve Impacting Wins, & Ride Spectacular Life Waves
Ready to position the art of surfing waves as a process for deep reflection and meaningful life transitions?
Subscribe to Thinking In Waves, my short weekly essay about the lessons and experiences that I learn surfing offshore waves on a surfski kayak transferred to an innovative model for clear thinking and better choices <— Short, fun, and memorable - new riders are always welcome!
After a long-time focus on elements of "preparation,"
Let's return to the surfing technique that yields our ultimate benefit - Free Energy -
Which lives in Step Four of the Wave Surfing Progression: Surf the Wave.
Here, I turn to my amazing coach, Boyan, for a visual reflection of Free Energy's accessibility -
Four Minutes of surfing waves
Without a single push of forward propulsion from his paddle -
Not only is this an incredible accomplishment within the surfski world but a beautiful demonstration of Free Energy that yields speed, grace, and fun.
Two important points about Boyan’s display of effortlessness:
- This is not four minutes of "the perfect wave." In fact, these are just scores of masterful adjustments and links within the continuous Rise-Collapse-Rise Again nature of many waves.
- Everything Boyan is doing to capture the maximum capacity of Free Energy follows and adheres to the entire spectrum of the Wave Surfing Progression that we discuss and double-click upon here in Thinking In Waves.
So, in transferring Boyan's magic at sea to the Waves we surf in Life,
Could our rides of
Learning
Change
Connection
Creativity
Adventure
Enjoyment
Be this Effortless?
A counterintuitive idea opens the possibility:
Resistance.
Riders in states intentional growth are
NOT missing the wave...
They are just mismanaging the wave.
The Free Energy acquired within the surf
Left unchecked
Sends the rider - very quickly - to the wave's trough
Where energy and momentum are compromised...
And ultimately lost.
Common culprits include rushing, impatience, distraction, and trying to keep up with the comparative standard.
However, wisely-applied Resistance:
Checks our speed
Holds a better position
Creates optionality.
Boyan may not take a single forward stroke for four minutes...
But his implementation of Resistance is
Clear
Strategic
and
Consistent, which
Anchors
Effortlessness.
This is
Equilibrium,
The opimitzation of positioning between two opposing forces.
The search for Equilibrium on the Wave is our work...
When we find it,
Effortlessness appears.
With gratitude, Joe
Joe Jacobi
Olympic Gold Medalist, Performance Coach & Author
Unlock Your Why, Achieve Impacting Wins, & Ride Spectacular Life Waves
Ready to position the art of surfing waves as a process for deep reflection and meaningful life transitions?
Subscribe to Thinking In Waves, my short weekly essay about the lessons and experiences that I learn surfing offshore waves on a surfski kayak transferred to an innovative model for clear thinking and better choices <— Short, fun, and memorable - new riders are always welcome!