Fin Finder
Contributor
"Enjoy the journey", is something I have often said to students and new divers.
I believe "diver burn out" has it's cause in a person's initial approach to the sport. I see too many novice divers rushing through the various levels of certification without really becoming complete divers. Some launch into the technical disciplines before mastering the most basic skills. Some get bogged down in the over abundance of scuba gear, believing that there is magic in all the pieces of metal, plastic, and velcro.
They are lost in the woods.
Perhaps many of these lost souls are really just futilely seeking some kind of status or recognition from their fellow divers, in the mistaken belief that this is a competitive endeavor. They forget, or perhaps have never grasped, the true reason why we dive. So, when the rewards don't come fast enough, they become disillusioned, unsatisfied, or simply bored, and switch to an easier path before gaining an appreciation for the beauty and adventure they have left behind.
To those people I say training and education are important to becoming a safe diver, and competency with the equipment is essential, but to really understand diving one must also gradually and painstakingly gain the knowledge and capabilities that only bottom time and experience brings. It requires competency in a couple dozen core principles, and mastery of a few thousand undefined subtleties. Punch the clock, own the mistakes, relish the successes, be humble, and earn your stripes if you plan to stick around.
And slow down, the process takes years, not weekends.
Diving is life-long. When you look back on all the phases of your diving life, from green newbie to salty old-timer, there will be memorable moments and achievements in all of them. Enjoy the newness of the places you go and the things you see, because that is the essence of what we seek underwater, and why we travel all around the world to rediscover it.
Remember, Rome wasn't burned in a day.
I believe "diver burn out" has it's cause in a person's initial approach to the sport. I see too many novice divers rushing through the various levels of certification without really becoming complete divers. Some launch into the technical disciplines before mastering the most basic skills. Some get bogged down in the over abundance of scuba gear, believing that there is magic in all the pieces of metal, plastic, and velcro.
They are lost in the woods.
Perhaps many of these lost souls are really just futilely seeking some kind of status or recognition from their fellow divers, in the mistaken belief that this is a competitive endeavor. They forget, or perhaps have never grasped, the true reason why we dive. So, when the rewards don't come fast enough, they become disillusioned, unsatisfied, or simply bored, and switch to an easier path before gaining an appreciation for the beauty and adventure they have left behind.
To those people I say training and education are important to becoming a safe diver, and competency with the equipment is essential, but to really understand diving one must also gradually and painstakingly gain the knowledge and capabilities that only bottom time and experience brings. It requires competency in a couple dozen core principles, and mastery of a few thousand undefined subtleties. Punch the clock, own the mistakes, relish the successes, be humble, and earn your stripes if you plan to stick around.
And slow down, the process takes years, not weekends.
Diving is life-long. When you look back on all the phases of your diving life, from green newbie to salty old-timer, there will be memorable moments and achievements in all of them. Enjoy the newness of the places you go and the things you see, because that is the essence of what we seek underwater, and why we travel all around the world to rediscover it.
Remember, Rome wasn't burned in a day.
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