I am feeling discouraged. What to do?
An Introduction to Soul Surfing

Believe me, surfing is so difficult that we all feel discouraged from time to time. So it is not just you. I will assure you.

And, ask yourself this question: "Why surf?" I think that the ultimate answer to this is to have fun, and fun with the gift of the nature and your body and soul, which you should really become familiar with. After all, they are the only true life-time friends you will ever have. So get to know them early, be nice to them, and be honest with them.

So what is the key for having fun surfing? I think that one of the keys to this is that you learn to understand that you are a better person today than yesterday as a result of learning how to surf better. You probably did not have much luck getting better today, but did you learn anything as a result of this? I am sure you did. There always is a new challenge given a condition and no wave is exactly alike (especially on shifty sand beach breaks we get around here). Each day presents a new kind of challenge, and you need to go out and take it. You did not catch any today? No problem, you tried and you can probably tell what went wrong. Ask most any old surfers on a poor day after a session. The answer is almost always, "I am happy I got out today!"

Here are other tips;

• Go out as much as you can. Unless it is really storming or dangerously strong and bigger than what you can comfortably handle. Yes, there will be move waves.
• Pick a partner if you can, especially with those at the same skill level (or a bit better than you) and the same goal and desires as you have. 
• Sometimes observe yourself how you are doing. Often you get a bad habit and doing things unconsciously. Review each step of execution consciously. Or take a couple of hours of private lesson and have someone experienced watch you and correct bad habits.
• Change locations. Go and explore other breaks on weekends or holidays. Or even go to one of surf camps for a week.
• After a big error, stop and think about what has happened. Can you replay in your minds what did actually happen? How can you avoid it the next time?
• Watch how other better people are doing it. Rent a video, analyze photos, read books. Talk about it in the StokeFORUM.
• As a student of a surfer, you got to accept the fact that being discouraged is a part of fun of getting there, and everyone is experiencing it (at very least the founder of StokeMaster does.)
• Accept the fact that it is not always the waves, tides, or equipment that are imperfect but it is within yourself that making the experience non perfect. The true masters of surfing will be able to surf any waves you throw at them with any size of type of board, still having fun, appreciating all the things around. Need a proof? Go take an advanced surf lesson from an experienced instructor. The instructor will show up with a BZ Doyle foam board or a betan up rental surfboard, and the instructor will surf  significantly better than any of us with our pride possession of new Anapapa, Firewire, Al Merrick or Takayama or Mandala Custom... or whatever surfboards!
• Just learn to relax at all situations. Look at the best surfers out there. Best surfers look relaxed paddling in, out and standing on their surfboards. Beginner surfers look all panicked and awkward especially when they are trying to catch waves; paddling like crazy with paddling form all messed up. This is a pattern of your very own fear playing up. This wastes a lot of internal and external energy, not allowing you to focus all the energy into where it is needed. The first step toward relaxation is to be aware of when you are relaxed and not, that's the start of becoming the Zen master in surfing.
  
  If you do overcome this phase, you can apply what you've learned in your other life situations. Surfing is not just about riding waves or looking cool. It is also not about being constantly entertained or gratified. Up to now, you may have been accustomed to your parents providing the best comfortable environment to play in and gave all the encouragements you needed. 
  
  Surfing cannot provide that. It is a true outdoor sport. You are playing with the real nature of the universe in which none of us have an immediate and direct control, and as one of the most ultimate individual sport there is, you basically you go out there and do it on your own.