Why Being a Beginner Sucks
june 2, 2021 | WORDS BY lindsey locke
So, I just started surfing.
This may come as a surprise to you, given the fact that I lived in Santa Cruz, California for the last decade, but here I am… just now learning how to surf.
Okay, let’s back up the bus a little bit. How could I live in a surf community for 10 years and never surf? Well, to say “never” would be a little bit of a lie. I went once in 2010… it was cold, I was afraid of sharks, and I didn’t stand up on my board once. So, being the natural athlete that I am, I swore it off and said it, “wasn’t for me.”
Fast forward 11 years: I now live in San Diego with warmer water, less sharks, and a burning desire to learn how to surf as I watch barefoot beach babes walk down the street with their boards in hand, having just emerged from the waves.
With the excuses out of the way, the only things left to face were my ego and negative self-talk.
I think it’s important here to remind readers of the autonomic nervous system.
Without geeking out too hard and going too far into it, our autonomic nervous system allows certain things in our daily life to go on autopilot and be done unconsciously. Take breathing for example, it’d be really exhausting to have to learn to breathe every day—so thank goodness for this function.
Now, take driving for example. When you first learned to drive you might have hugged the outside curb, found yourself traveling 5-10 miles under the speed limit, and sweating profusely with every lane change. Now, years later, you buckle up, put on your favorite tunes, zipping to your destination, sometimes with no recollection of how you got there, what traffic was like, or which route you took to get there. This is because driving (for better or worse) has been stored in your autonomic nervous system and is now something you can do with ease and without much thought.
So, how does this relate to my goal of surfing?
In the 1970’s, Noel Burch, coined and outlined the Conscious Competence Ladder. This ladder has 4 tiers to learning new skills. The base level is Unconsciously Unskilled. Cue Kook of the Day videos. I lived in this zone for a while—thankfully without hurting anyone. In a nutshell, while in this tier, you have a lot of faux confidence…an “ignorance is bliss” kind of state.
Next you move into Consciously Unskilled… and lemme tell you what, it sucks. I’m here now. The confidence is gone, I’ve recognized just how bad I am at this new sport, and while in this tier, the failure rate is high. It’s very easy to get caught up in negative self-talk and comparison here. I want to urge you not to quit when you find yourself in this zone—success is just around the corner!
Pro tip:
Affirmations, mantras, and remembering your “why” behind starting such endeavor are all very important during this time to help combat the negative self-talk cycles.
Next you move into Consciously Skilled. You’re able to do the task, but it still takes quite a bit of bandwidth and willpower. This stage is really fun, as you’ve got the basics down and now are trying new things. Think about the time you graduated from strict, to kipping, to butterfly pull-ups and the magic you felt. You’re capitalizing on your new skill, learning efficiencies, and gaining your confidence back.
…man, I can’t wait to be in this place!
Finally comes Unconsciously Skilled. You can paddle out, pop up, and coast (pun intended) your way into the beach without effort or thought. In short, you’ve mastered the skill.
As humans, we thrive in frustration. Evolution fueled us to figure out problems, adapt quickly, learn and move forward. When we get caught in negative self-talk, frustration, or giving up, we are robbing ourselves of one of life’s greatest achievements: growth.
Put the effort in, climb the ladder, get comfortable with the uncomfortable.
Effort Over Everything!
