I remember my first time scuba diving in the ocean like it was yesterday. That was 40 years ago. I sat there anxiously on the dive boat, about to roll back into the water.
I’d been in the ocean a lot of times before, having gone to the beach many times as a child. This was different though. No land in sight… choppy water… something I’d never done before (I was questioning my sanity by my just being there)… and a very overwhelming fear of a shark eating me the moment I jumped in. I closed my eyes and said a prayer before going in. Seriously. I thought I was about to die.
Turned out I didn’t die. Matter of fact, I loved it, and would do it many more times over my lifetime. That shark I was so afraid of never showed up and I didn’t run out of air. I’d even get to go diving many years later with my son. Pretty cool stuff.
As I reflect over a lifetime of diving, it has occurred to me that not only have I had a great time scuba diving, I’ve learned a lot about myself. Here are a few things I’ve discovered over the years:
Some Life Lessons
- Take The Plunge: Doing something new can be frightening. That’s okay. If there’s something in your life that you want to try, something you’ve never done before, I think it’s important to focus on doing “the thing” and why you want to do “the thing” instead of dwelling on all the reasons why you can’t (or shouldn’t) do it. Excuses are so easy to come up with. Action can take a little more effort, but it can be so worth it.
- Gear Up (Invest In Yourself): We’ve gotta have the right stuff to do the job, right? Think about your life. Do you have the right stuff? Here’s a basic one: are you working on your health? I mean, if you’re not trying to stay in decent shape, you’re not really poised to tackle a lot of the new adventures you might otherwise pursue. What are the requirements for the thing you want to try? Are you ready? Do you have the right “gear”?
- Navigate the Currents (Go With The Flow): We can’t always control what comes at us next. But we can absolutely control how we respond to life’s curveballs. When life hits you with the unexpected, that’s the time to rise to the challenge and roll on with it.
- Try It Anyway – The Unknown May Just Be Amazing: I tell people my favorite scuba diving activity has always been night diving. They typically respond with some kind of response like, “You’re crazy. I’d never do that.” I used to fell the same way – until I tried it. It’s hard to describe what it’s like, but I will tell you, it’s one of the most incredible, enjoyable things I’ve ever done in my life. You never know about things until you try them. So try them!
- Make Time For Silence And Reflection: You really feel in tune with your body when the water’s a bit cold and the main sound you can hear is that of your own breathing. I’ve never done much meditating, but I like to think this can be very similar. I think it’s important to have some quiet time along the way in life where you can reflect and learn and grow.
- Embrace Self Reliance: You learn this one pretty quickly scuba diving. Sure, you’re supposed to have a dive buddy, but what happens when someone accidentally kicks off your facemask and you’re 65 feet down near the ocean floor? (That has really happened to me before.) Well the good news is, if you were paying attention in your dive class (that’s kind of a joke – how can you not?!?), then you know how to handle that. You pick up your mask, put it on, clear the water out of it, and roll on. Problem solved. Does life kick your mask off sometimes? Heck yeah it does. And what do you do? You pull yourself together and keep going.
Conclusion
It’s funny how similar I’ve found scuba diving and life after 50 (or 60) to be. Life is about exploring. Life – like most great dives – is over with much sooner than we want it to be. It all just goes by much too quickly. Which means we need to embrace life to its fullest – each and every moment of it – even when those moments aren’t expected or even desired sometimes. I heard someone say once, “I want to live until I die.” Pretty solid advice in my opinion.
So what can you do, starting today? You can get out there and live life. You can embrace change and the unknown. Go out with a bang and not with a whimper. Do something that challenges you, excites you, scares you a little, but most of all, grows who you are as a person. You might even give scuba diving a try. I highly recommend it.
You can do this. Go get ’em.
