With a sliver of blue morning sky between the ocean horizon and the rising sun, I stood atop the wooden bench at Coast Guard Beach and watched as two surfers ran toward the water with their shortboards. Launching themselves into the December water, they paddled out together, eyes on the calm water beyond the breaking waves. Ice cold peaks broke over their heads, spinning them back toward the shore. They had entered at the ocean wrong spot: paddling head on into the peaks of the waves.

Minutes passed with no progress, then one turned to the beach, paddled in, stepped back, studied the swell and jogged south to the channel of deeper water that offered a path to the outside. Now in the right spot, the surfer paddled head down and in minutes was sitting up resting on the outside beyond the breaking swell.

Perseverance was rewarded with one peeling over-head ride after another because one of them made the decision to step back from the problem, assess the situation, and adopt a different strategy. Hard work is not enough when it comes to academic achievement. Rereading a passage seven times does not necessarily lead to comprehension. Redoing an equation using the same steps does not always get you to the right answer. Running an experiment for a third time using the same steps does not guarantee quality data. Pushing on a door designed to be pulled will never get you into the building.

Learning calls for perseverance and the willingness to step back to reconsider how you are doing the work. You may need to talk with someone about the reading assignment you do not understand. You may need to review different examples of the problem you cannot solve. You may need to take a walk and clear your head before you rework a lab. Believing there’s a way through the problem and that you have the wherewithal to be successful is essential in realizing that when things are not going well, you are not the problem, it is the approach you are taking that has to be re-examined.

The surfers were never going to get to the outside paddling head on into the peaks. Taking a different path was the solution to their problem. Paddling harder was just going to lead to exhaustion. The same is true for learning – when you find yourself stuck, take a breath, step away, and ask yourself if there is a different way.

I hope you have an opportunity this weekend to talk with someone about a problem you are up against and to consider if there is another path that you could try.

Peace,

Chris