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Welcome to The Ascend Archives Tuesday Tale, a weekly newsletter where I share a story about a transformation, revelation, or change in thinking that has helped improve an aspect of my life.

This weekend, I drove 20 minutes to Lake Travis to go wakeboarding with my friends.

When people ask why I moved to Austin, being able to make that statement regularly is a top 3 answer.

After 4 weeks of writing newsletters, client conversations, 2-hour bike rides, and 7-mile runs, I needed to get out of my typical environment. 3 hours out on the lake was just what I needed.

As I sat on the front of the boat, the wind swirling and the boat zipping 25 MPH back to the dock, my mind started to wander. I went back to childhood memories at my family’s lake house. I thought about lessons from the recent books I’ve read. I started going through what work needed to get done this week. I looked around to appreciate my surroundings.

The creative juices were flowing. Here are a few of my takeaways…

My Lake Day Reflections

1. Lean into adventure

My cousin Pete taught me how to wake board when I was 14. Sitting on the end of the dock, he helped me lock my feet into the board, showed me the crouched take-off position and told me to lean on my heels until the boat popped me out of the water.

After 4 or 5 attempts, I got myself up and was happy coasting in the wake behind the boat. Eventually that got boring and I was ready to try something new. Pete tells me to go for some air, “Lean to the right and get out of the wake. Carve hard and pull as far away from the boat as possible. When you’re ready, steer back towards the wake and let the boat pull you. The key is bending your knees in a squat position and getting your board perpendicular with the wake.”

Sounded easy enough.

I would perfectly follow his instructions until I got close to the wake. I could never commit to going fully perpendicular. I would feel myself about to get launched into the air and adjust at the last minute.

My other cousin Stu was the complete opposite. He would hop on the board, carve as hard as possible, launch himself 8 feet in the air and crash into the water. One and done. He was there for the thrill.

Year after year I would chicken out. I could never get myself to commit to the jump.

I’m now 28 years old. I haven’t wake boarded in 3 years, but just like riding a bike, I pop out of the water on my first try at Lake Travis.

After a minute of chillin in the calm wake, I hear Pete in my head “Carve hard. Square the board. Tuck your knees.”

I go for it.

Attempt #1 - I carve hard. I square the board. But my knees aren’t tucked enough. So I “hop” back into the wake, hit a few bumps and fall into the water.

Attempt #2 - I carve hard. I square the board. I throw my hips back and get into a deep squat…

AIRBORNE

I was in the air for what felt like 30 seconds. Then miraculously stuck the landing. Some cheers came from the boat. A smile from ear to ear on my face.

What made that jump so fun?

It was the risk. The chance of falling. Doing something uncomfortable and overcoming it.

I could’ve easily landed awkwardly and broken a bone. But I took a calculated risk. I waited for calm water, I took my shot, and it paid off. I had 10x more fun on that one jump than 20 minutes just cautiously riding in the wake.

If only I had my 15 year old body, I wouldn’t be so sore today…

2. Know when to quit

After I landed that jump, I tapped out.

It was only my second run, but I knew it was time to quit. The marginal benefit of continuing was no longer worth the risk.

I didn’t do any calculations in my head, but my gut told me that I was happy ending on a high note. Reflecting on my decision, I used Annie Duke’s concept of thinking in expected value.

I already landed the jump. The chances of me landing another one were slim and the amount of joy I’d get from the next one would have been significantly less than my first. The chances of me getting hurt while holding onto a rope, my legs attached to a board, and getting pulled by a boat going 20 MPH were still high. Not to mention the longer I was on the board, the more sore I was going to be the next day.

10 years ago, I probably would’ve kept going. But playing my current hand, I was happy to fold.

3. Create space

We rented that boat from 3 - 6 PM on Sunday.

At around 1 PM, I didn’t want to go.

I spent the morning doing work for a client and grocery shopping. I still had more work to finish. I hadn’t meal prepped. I hadn’t completed my Sunday reflection. I hadn’t relaxed.

But I knew I’d enjoy being out on the lake and hanging with my friends. The $100 I already paid also played a role (sorry sunk cost fallacy).

Looking back, I’m glad I spent the time with friends and I enjoyed the water sports, but the best part was just getting space. My daily routine includes journaling and walking, but being away from my day-to-day environment hit different. Creating that physical space improved my ability to think and reflect.

I didn’t intend to self-reflect, but it came naturally when I mixed up the routine, did something I enjoyed, and surrounded myself with other interesting people.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this idea of creating space, leaning into curiosity, and connecting with others. I’m testing out a new project so stay tuned!

Thank you for reading! As always please reply and let me know what resonated, what didn’t, or what you question. I love chatting about this stuff!

Cheers,

Andrew