How good do you need to be?

[BabyDuck]

interesting thoughts, rob...so you're sorta suggesting that we pick and choose to use the 'hero' image for ourselves and avoid letting the 'heroes' dictate the images to us. hmm.

i like it. i try to be an 'internal locus of control' type person anyway. ok, an internal locus of control person who also believes in fate. as in, sometimes you can beat the system or whatever, but not always, and it's not always your fault if you don't succeed or win or achieve against the odds. trying harder is not always the solution - there's not always something lesser or wrong with you about accepting that your level isn't the highest or best if you've given a good try. i guess what i'm saying is i believe that after some good effort beating your head against a brick wall, stopping is a prudent choice instead of a defeat.

 

[grazie42]

I"is your hero image making you a better diver[?]".
R..

Yes.
My "hero image" has also changed over the course of my diving life. When I started out, my "hero image" was a dolphin, maybe because I started out as a snorcler/free diver before I even thought of scuba.

"Dolphin" still remains as my hero image for free diving but for diving it has been replaced by myself with a DS and "a grey blur" on my back moving thru different uw enviroments in complete control and effortless grace...the "grey blur" is because I now dive singles, doubles and RB where I deem it apropriate and have "landed" in the realization that this will be the case for me for the forseable future. Still struggling with the "complete control & grace bit" though...
ymmv

 

[Walter]

This is perhaps the big question in this sport.... the question of standards.

Let's answer it by asking these questions:

1) who are you trying to please, and why?
2) what will it take to please them?

A few tips here. Who you are NOT trying to please, if you think this through, are:

- Other divers (except possibly your regular buddy)
- "Experts"
- Your instructor

The question of standards...that indicates I'm teaching a class because that's the only time I'm concerned with standards. If I'm teaching a class, I am concerned with pleasing my students and myself. If I'm teaching a class I'm certainly not looking to please my instructor, because I don't have one. If I'm taking a class, my instructor is concerned with standards, not me. I'm only concerned with learning as much as possible while in the class.

that's where the elite come in. In every field there are the elite who all have *their* own hero image (and God forbid they're often as severe as Lynne's internal one.....) and would like us to believe

a) it's the only one
b) it's the right one.

Elitists in diving. They're pretty rare. They're so rare I've never seen a single problem with them. They go off and dive by themselves and ignore those of us who don't measure up. They don't visit ScubaBoard. They are a non-issue.

 

[Diver0001]

Elitists in diving. They're pretty rare. They're so rare I've never seen a single problem with them. They go off and dive by themselves and ignore those of us who don't measure up. They don't visit ScubaBoard. They are a non-issue.

Actually, you make a good point but I'm going to hold that up to the light for a minute.

ElitISTS, are not necessarily the Elite, nor are the Elite necessarily Elitists, although there are clear examples of people who are both.

Maybe I should have used a better word, like snob or something.

The ELITE are rare and don't come on scubaboard. EliTISTS (snobs) are everywhere. They're the ones with big opinions about how other people should be doing things (which hero model we should accept).

It's logical that there will be more snobs than there are elite divers because of the way human beings work. Some people will always have the compulsion to put their heros on a pedestal and make them a hero model. Sometimes, out of enthousiam, fanaticism or varying intensities of foolishness, they may feel the need to define that as THE hero model, and not THEIR hero model....

It's even easier for snobishness to grow, perhaps, in small communities of people if someone comes along and defines himself as THE hero model and then gathers a huge following of people willing to accept and promote that image. You see it in rock climbing, in scuba diving, probably in dressage, parasailing, martial-arts and other "niche" sports with relatively small groups of committed practitioners.

R..

 

[Diver0001]

interesting thoughts, rob...so you're sorta suggesting that we pick and choose to use the 'hero' image for ourselves and avoid letting the 'heroes' dictate the images to us. hmm.

Exactly. This is what I'm trying to suggest, with the caveat that we should keep it realistic (even if it changes over time).

There's no sense in trying to be like Glenn Gould when you're just a slob who plays for a hobby (or trying to be like GI III if you make 6 dives a year from a cattle boat) because all you're going to do is frustrate yourself and cut down on your fun.

R..

 

[TSandM]

What has fascinated me with my diving is that I do adopt "heroes", usually people whose skills or accomplishments far outstrip mine. But my mental image of their skills is often FAR better than the reality, and when I actually get to spend time with people, I often find out they make some of the same mistakes I do. Something in my brain thinks that there are OTHER people who live up to my image of ideal, even though I almost never can, and I'm not really sure that's true. But I always seem to be startled to discover it, over and over again.

 

[Buoyant1]

This is perhaps the big question in this sport.... the question of standards.

Let's answer it by asking these questions:

1) who are you trying to please, and why?
2) what will it take to please them?

A few tips here. Who you are NOT trying to please, if you think this through, are:

- Other divers (except possibly your regular buddy)
- "Experts"
- Your instructor
- Your instructor's agency
- Any kind of Hero stereotype

So, who are YOU trying to please?

R..

Who are you trying to please, and why?

me... and me alone! Why? because no one matters except me and the buddy I am currently diving with, and if we make it down and back safely, then I'm pleased! (if we see something cool, great, if I get a picture of it, really great, if it's a good enough picture to make into an 8X10 and put on my wall...AWESOME!

What will it take to please me?

Being safe, progressing as a diver, and learning as much as I can to get as much enjoyment out of this sport that I can muster. I like to push myself!

Pretty easy!

 

[BTravlin]

Ernest Shackleton
Whenever I do something I think to myself "would Ernest Shackleton approve of this?" If the answer is yes I'm good to go.

It is interesting. On the one hand it's every man/woman for themselves and on the other the current state of the "buddy" system sucks... perhaps there is a correlation?
It's probably why 50% of marriages end in divorce too.

I try to please most people if it doesn't put me out too much or cause me to violate some inner conviction. Why not? I've even been known to bring homemade cookies to share during the SI. Mr Shackleton would approve.

Interesting reply. I'm a big fan of Ernest Shackleton as he was one tough SOB and an excellent leader. Amazing what he was able to accomplish with relatively crude gear compared to what is available today. If you strive to emulate him then your dive buddy should be in good company.

 

[Walter]

Actually, you make a good point but I'm going to hold that up to the light for a minute.

ElitISTS, are not necessarily the Elite, nor are the Elite necessarily Elitists, although there are clear examples of people who are both.

Maybe I should have used a better word, like snob or something.

Actually, I know that an elitist and a snob are one in the same.

The ELITE are rare and don't come on scubaboard. EliTISTS (snobs) are everywhere. They're the ones with big opinions about how other people should be doing things (which hero model we should accept).

By definition, the elite are rare, but there are some on Scubaboard. Few of the true elite are snobs.

Snobs in diving. They're pretty rare. They're so rare I've never seen a single problem with them. They go off and dive by themselves and ignore those of us who don't measure up. They don't visit ScubaBoard. They are a non-issue.

 

[HenrikBP]

I believe, for better or worse, that trying to constantly "live up" to a hero image isn't always helpful. It's not helpful for our progress, it's not helpful for our satisfaction, it can kill the "fun", create stress or even a sort of "performance anxiety" when diving with others, etc etc.

Interesting thread and good point.

As to your remark quoted above; I have similar "issues" I'm working on. The thing I keep reminding myself is, that the "Hero Image" only becomes a problem if I don't also realize that the "Hero Image" is only achievable in an ideal world - and as we know there is no such thing

For me, having the "Hero Image" as a carrot, helps me keep working on improving my skills, knowledge etc. As long as I realize it is a carrot and not something I will ever achieve in the real world - nor does it have to be , it (mostly) won't kill the fun I have with diving.

But it is a delicate balance that's difficult to maintain - at least for me.

Henrik