Ocean Moment: Change Your Environment
There wasn’t much to surf last week. As Summer starts, the good-for-surfing conditions start to fade.
Here in San Diego, the winter is the best time to surf - although the water gets chilly!
So as May turned into June last week, I was reluctant when a friend called and asked that we go surf:
“C’mon man, let’s get out there!”
And I had every excuse in the book lined up:
Waves aren’t good enough
My ankle hurt
Busy with work
“It’ll be fun. We gotta do it!” my friend implored.
Their persistence won me over, and, begrudgingly, I headed to our favorite break.
On the way over, I had thoughts running through my head:
This really isn’t worth it
I don’t know why I’m doing this
And pretty soon I started to notice some physical discomfort. My hands felt shaky. My head felt heavy - like a headache. At my core, I felt dull.
These feelings swept over me and kept me from feeling any interest about getting in the water, paddling out into the ocean, and looking to glide into surfable waves - all things that typically excite me.
I would eventually make a realization about the connection between my discouraged attitude and my physical discontent.
At this point, my pervasive lack of enthusiasm to surf had grown into some sizable negative thought loops.
I wasn’t excited to surf. I started to feel physically ill. I was in a downward spiral.
I carried on going through the motions - putting on my wetsuit, carrying my board to the water, putting the board leash around my ankle.
Then, I simply jumped into the water.
And as I paddled out, those negative thoughts went on hold.
Surfing is an activity that requires focused attention on the present moment. If you’re not focused, you won’t navigate the incoming waves and stay afloat.
Within 30 seconds of being in the ocean, I noticed a shift.
My body felt the rush of cold water enter the wetsuit, the my “cobra” paddling position helped me stretch out my torso, and could sense the unique “floating” sensation of lying on the surfboard.
Just a few moments prior, I was on land, shaking my head about the decision to surf and feeling both psychological and physical distress.
I could sense a change had occurred, as I now felt more at ease and more connected with my body.
What changed? My environment or my “setting” to use the psychedelic therapy phrase.
Even though my mindset or “set” was discouraged, the physical shifts my body went through - exposure to water, change in temperature, change in posture - these things were enough to drastically shift my wellbeing in that moment.
Before long, I was catching enjoyable waves. My friend and I started to reconnect and share life updates. A flock of pelicans in a “flying-V” soared right over our heads.
What amazing beauty that I almost missed!
After an hour or so, we decided to paddle back to shore. This is when it started to hit me: how profound of a shift my wellbeing went through with just one variable changed: environment.
Even with a poor outlook (i.e. mindset), something about the physical demands and shifts of getting into the ocean propelled me into a new mental space.
And I think I write this as an invitation for people to consider the same for themselves…
Shifting environment during times of distress.
It’s really hard, sometimes impossible to address a specific psychological pain. Consider though where you experience this and what the rest of your setting is like: people, activities, even temperature and food.
Could you improve your mood with just a change in environment?
In Family Systems Therapy, therapists will often make recommendations that families “shake up” family dynamics and their environment - leave the house for an evening, move siblings out (or in) of the same bedroom, etc.
By changing up our physical space, our psychological selves have a new context and in some ways a new chance to present differently.
Here is a shortlist of suggestions for changing your physical environment in a manageable fashion:
Do Something In Nature: Whether it’s a walk in nature or swimming in the ocean, some sort of movement around natural things can help us, especially when we live sedentary, technology focused lives.
Manage Your Living Space: Try to designate certain physical spaces for specific activities. This can help you separate different mindsets/energies you exercise throughout the day:
Space for work: desk or office
Space for play: couch, floor, or favorite seat
Space for relaxation: yoga mat, seat or couch (not bed)
Space for sleep/intimacy: bed
Change It Up: If you feel discontent or discomfort, try changing your space in any way you can. Stretch, walk, jump up and down, wiggle your arms - anything physical for 5 min (set a timer) and you’ll probably notice some type of change from where you started.
