Every day is a learning day

I certainly believe that with an open mindset you will achieve more as every day is a learning day.  I've been on holiday for the last week in the most beautiful place I've ever stayed - Gulhi island, The Maldives.  Everyday you wake up in paradise and feel alive.  But I still have to keep the training ticking over as I can't let that slip.  The island itself is so small, perhaps 1km between the farthest points so my running was restricted to the treadmill.  Even in an air conditioned gym your bottle of water is warm by the end so it was a bit of a sweat fest.  3 x 11km and 1 x 5.5 km have worked off the calories from the amazing food on offer.  In between that I have rested a lot, read books, caught up with the "boss (it is our 25th wedding anniversary celebration after all) and enjoyed having no schedule for a change.
While away I decided to try surfing for the first time in my life and as someone who's never stayed on a skateboard for more than a few seconds before taking a tumble, I thought this was a good challenge.  Fortunately there is a lovely couple who run the surf school, Fiona and Josh, and between them I was given a theory lesson before heading out for my first go.  The hour flew by as I demonstrated my disco legs before falling off and the tune in my head was more "Timber" than "Hawaii 50".  But by the end I was managing to get up on the board and stay there so I was hungry to learn more.
The following day we went out into bigger waves and had a three hour session.  What I hadn't realise was the better you get, the farther you travel on the board therefore the further back you have to paddle back on the board.  I must have paddled over 2k which was an unexpected bonus because I'm putting that down as a training session!  In the end I was more Hawaii 50 than Timber and could easily see me going on a surfing holiday (outside of the UK) in the future.  So thank you to Fiona and Josh for their expertise and encouragement.
Learning a news skill or going back to the basics in anything in life is refreshing because it makes you think.  Surfing made me think about my body, my balance and movement which relates to everything we do.  It's just that on a board in the sea, it exadurates the impact of being in the wrong stance/position.  If you haven't tried something new in the last few years, go on.  Get out there and have fun being a beginner again.  I remember well when I did karate why the club was called Shoshin.  It stood for "beginners mind".  "In the mind of the beginner there are many possibilities.  In the mind of the expert there are few".  I hope you're all having a fantastic learning day.  Let's see what I can learn tomorrow when I return from paradise.