There is nothing like a new year to inspire us to reflect on personal growth.
Whatever makes you uncomfortable is your biggest opportunity for growth. Bryant McGill
I haven’t posted anything about my windsurf journey in a while, so this seemed like a great time to demonstrate my growth in the sport of windsurfing. I have to push myself a little as I write this because this is one area of my leisure choices that is lacking.
In the above image of me in Baja, Mexico in January 2016, you can see the hesitation and uncertainty in my body language as I get set to tackle shore break waves slightly over my head. Sailing in the ocean is a scary proposition and I have used this same image with the Eleanor Roosevelt quote on several of my social media accounts.
Because this does scare me even now!
But not willing to cringe from a challenge, I was photographed last summer on one of the windier days at the delta, sailing on a very small sail! The wind clocked at 25 mph!
I had convinced myself that in these kinds of windy conditions, that I would get injured sailing this fast. Any experienced windsurfer will tell you that “water-time” is the only remedy for overcoming your fears, and when hubby set up a 3.7 meter sail (I normally sail on a 4.7 or 5.0 meter sail), I took the challenge and faced my fear.
And yes, I had a blast!
I was able to save the image above from a video taken by one of my windsurfer friends. Check it out:
Just the day before the video was taken of me, I used my new camera to take hundreds of photos of my fellow windsurfers as they braved the high winds.
Many of the ladies couldn’t use their own smaller sails because their husbands were using them! You can read more about this in this post: How the Delta Changed My Life
Using that camera in high winds and being able to capture some amazing footage in full zoom showed my growth as a photographer.
Often times, I get more pleasure out of photographing my windsurf colleagues than I do sailing.
I always seem to approach windsurfing with anxiousness and trepidation, even after eight seasons. But that day I went out in the high wind really challenged me and forced me to grow in the sport.
The rest of the summer, not so much, as the wind died on many summer weekends, then I had to deal with a sick dog, then a broken hand.
The best thing about reflecting at the beginning of the year is all that negativity is behind me and I really do look forward to the upcoming windsurf season!
Here’s to a summer of growth!
This is the first post of 2018 submitted for the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge Growth
Second Wind Leisure Perspectives 
What is YOUR perspective? Please include your name if WP identifies you as “anonymous.