At that very moment that I step into the water and I have to perform a new trick, my heart is racing and there are many ideas going through my head.
I review the tutorials, I imagine the sequence, but I also visualize the falls and the problems that I may run into. The stress increases.
Have you ever had that feeling?
I used to, and not just in the kite. It is the same feeling when I am in an unusual situation in my work or in everyday life. The key is to understand how to deal with these situations, how to stay calm when you leave your comfort zone.
Performing a kite maneuver requires the ability to deal with many practical aspects that will teach you to act in everyday life as well. A playful way to approach life differently.
Are you curious? I’m sure you’ll find yourself in most of them.
1- The state of mind
Cela peut te paraître évident, mais c’est par là qu’il faut commencer. Parce que notre cerveau a un rôle déterminant dans tout, que cela soit pour le meilleur ou pour le pire.
Avoir le bon esprit nous aide à gérer le stress, à visualiser l’objectif, ainsi qu’à résister à un effort et à surmonter une difficulté.
Laisse-moi te donner un exemple.
The kiteloop/megaloop. This move is one of those that best describes the mental aspect of kitesurfing. Once you’ve learned the technique of making simple loops, and you know how to use it for turning or landing small jumps, it’s time to get serious.
So far the risks are limited and the progression controlled. But to make the leap, you need that little bit of irrationality, which is the product of experience and self-awareness.
It’s time to leave fear aside and trust the skills you’ve acquired. If fear prevails, the maneuver will be poorly executed and the fall painful. So it’s time to trust your potential: ride fast, focus on the take-off point and jump as if you don’t want to pull the loop (if you think about the loop you risk being held back by fear). Yes, because for a real kiteloop you have to jump high or the impact will be tough for your knees. But once you reach the peak, there’s no more time to think, you just have to trust your instincts and pull the bar as hard as you can, the rest (if you’ve properly learned the technique) will come by itself.
This is the moment where the mental becomes the main actor. It’s just a matter of standing up against fear and letting your adrenaline and instinct drive you.
You will be confronted with the biggest problem, managing anxiety and fighting “avoidance”, which is the behavior of the human being who tends to procrastinate an action while enjoying a short-term benefit, but which will have negative consequences in the long term.
If you can overcome yourself and push yourself towards the unknown, you increase your resilience, a term used in psychology to indicate the ability to cope with traumatic events in a positive way, to reorganize positively when facing challenges, to rebuild yourself by remaining sensitive to opportunities, without alienating your identity.
Therefore, you should always try to face your fears, no matter how small or insignificant they may be, as soon as possible to prevent them from becoming insurmountable obstacles.
By not pulling the bar you will stay in your comfort zone, you will perhaps enjoy your jump ( possibly greeted by a tourist’s gesture of approval on the beach), and you will continue your ride. But sooner or later you’ll be up against your goal again, and the more you postpone it, the bigger and more unrealizable it will seem to you.
In life, it’s not that different. Acquire knowledge, study and be prepared. But then you have to take the first step, just as at some point when you get up to 7-8 meters you have to pull your bar to make a perfect kiteloop!
2- Be fit
The mental is closely related to being physically fit. In order to succeed in any activity, cultural or physical, you have to feel good with yourself and your body.
This doesn’t mean spending hours in the gym, running a marathon or being fooled by today’s influencers, who are promoting the cult of nothingness. Everyone has their own level and everyone must know their limits, which must be respected.
“Mens sana in corpore sano”.
Many times, I’ve been to the sport tired. And the session has been affected. A positive physical energy will unleash a proportional mental strength and give you the right charge to succeed.
On the contrary, if you feel weak, your fears will increase, reducing your confidence, and the goal will seem unapproachable.
Just like in sport, you can’t undertake a life change, or an action that is important to you, if you’re not in good shape.
3- Perseverance
You can’t expect to succeed everything on the first try, just like you can’t land a trick at first attempt. And I’ll tell you a secret, even if you do, you won’t be able to master it. It’s just beginner’s luck.
You learn by your mistake is not just a proverb, it’s the truth. Don’t be afraid to lose your face, no one’s going to judge you, and if they do, don’t pay attention to them. On the contrary, you have to make a mistake in order to improve and really understand what you have to focus on to progress and not make the same mistake again.
Perseverance is the key. You’re going to have to repeat that trick over and over again, falling down, getting up and starting over. Repeating the movement will help you to automatize it and finally master it, and then you’ll be able to perform it in any situation.
Isn’t it the same with your work?
4- Relax and manage the effort
Be careful handling the effort. Your body needs pauses, which will allow your body and brain to assimilate the movements and any mistakes made. There are times when repeated action will lead you to consolidate your failure by establishing a negative habit. That is the time to take a break, relax, do something else. Focus on another trick or take the day off.
Years ago, I was in Venezuela and I was learning a basic figure like the frontroll and I had to face more problems than I expected. As an autodidact I got stubborn on the move, multiplying my mistakes and blocking the rotation always at the same time. The result was a broken kite (a big L) and some big bruises on my leg and back. However, a forced break, three days to repair the kite, allowed me to come back as fresh and carefree as possible. I asked a coach on site for some tips, and in 1 hour I was able to learn it!
A break and quality advice are key ingredients.
