Member-only story
Why You Don’t Need Willpower to Succeed
Shifting your focus can pay massive happiness dividends
Three days ago, I logged a three-and-a-half-hour surf session. As is often the case, I was the first in the water, last out. I’d only stood up four, maybe five times on my new fish board in all that time. The rest was wobbles, wipeouts, and face-first falls.
When I paddled back to shore, one of the Germans at my current hostel stopped me as I was walking back inside.
“I saw you out there towards the end!” She said. “I just want you to know that I think it’s so inspiring to see you persevering out there. I admire the fact that you keep trying, and it looks like it’s paying off! I saw you stand up a few times.”
I laughed and thanked her, and walked over to shower my sore body off. As I showered, I thought about what she’d said. I’d told her the day before that I’d struggled since I’d bought that new board, falling 300–400 times before figuring out how to stand up on it that very day.
It had been a month and a half of wiping out, wondering if I’d ever figure it out, with several good surfers telling me that I went down…
