#canoepaddling

Off the south coast and away from the bustling city is a breathtaking view of Diamond Head and the Waikiki skyline. From going on a catamaran to joining a canoe paddling team, how much of a more peaceful environment can one ask for to take in the city without having to deal with the tourists and traffic? In addition to canoe paddling being an excellent full-body workout, it is also the only sport to use the ocean as its field. Meaning you might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a pod passing by or turtles resurfacing for air. 

I’ve been at this canoe-blog game for a while now.  Hey, if you know me…this has been a long while.

I saw my gear arsenal grow from a do-it-yourself hobby bin in the garage, to more of a MTV Cribs episode mixed with a taste of A&E’s Hoarders.  I suffered through the ‘How to Use a Semicolon-Gate of 2k14’ and peeked through the ever-present writer’s block and Houston rainy season to find the emergence of my tenth post and a small sense of online identity; no longer just a wannabe river bum and a template website.  I smiled through seemingly countless redesigns of my canoe rigging layout, busted the learning curve on tracking a canoe straight, and played with a blog format that err… let’s just say it’s better now.

In such a rapidly changing space, it’s hard not to get pulled into an ongoing analysis of where we are compared to where we want to be.  However, the analysis of where we’ve been compared to where we are now, while almost never appreciated, is somewhat important in reaching where we’re headed next.

To continually improve and not let my procrastinatory-nature take over, I operate with a sense of ‘controlled paranoia’ pushing me forward.  For me, this paranoia is a constant force of dissatisfaction with current success that keeps me looking over my shoulder like Bonnie and Clyde on the run from Central US Law Dogs during the Public Enemy Era sprinkled with the remnants of the Great Depression.   After going on their outlaw spree, Bonnie and Clyde did a pretty darn good job avoiding the police officers who were looking for them like a kid searching Mommy’s closet on Christmas Eve.

Great Clyde, this paranoia sure is doing a good job keeping the cops from catching up with you from behind.  However, at some point, don’t you have to stop and reevaluate the past success you have had in order to successfully continue running?

I’m not telling Clyde to high five the neighbors and post a tweet about surviving another day on the run.  All I am saying is find what is working for you, reflect on it, and stick with it.

While I’m not running from the cops, I am running from complacency – complacency in a budding hobby and complacency in a remotely successful blog per my low standards.