I’d never been on more than a boogie board, yet there I was staring into the Pacific Ocean. My body choked by a wetsuit and my arms fighting the wind to hold onto the eight-foot board.

A friend had volunteered to teach me to surf.

Eager to start, I took a step towards the crashing waves. “Stop. Turn around. The lesson starts on the beach.” What followed were the fundamentals of surfing:

• First, wade out into the water and attempt to ride a wave like a boogie board,
• Second, do they same but center my hands on the board (and never touch the rails again),
• Third, attempt to pop-up into a standing position (and fall over and over again),
• And finally, pop-up then ride a (very, very small) wave.

The elementary pace included a return to the sand between each lesson. A chance to catch my breath, shake out the cool saltwater, and prepare for the next step. Each break also came with a recurring mantra… “Don’t rush to failure.”

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The mantra has stuck with me long after that surf lesson.

Whether a potential deal at work or a sale at the local store, there is a natural urge to rush into the opportunity. I mean, it may never ever come back again, right?

Maybe not. Maybe the right approach is to step back and focus on the fundamentals.

What is the basic need? When is it needed? And, what is the logical next step?

These fundamentals can lay the foundation to resist an arbitrary deadline or a rushed decision. AKA, what I would call unnecessary stress (…. and people already have enough of that).

NH.

P.S. I realize some things just need done ASAP, this is more so an indictment on arbitrary deadlines 🙂