I tried stand up paddle boarding for the first time recently and saw some “life lessons” in the attempt.

Plan and Prepare. Consider the best time of day/location, environmental conditions and make sure you have all the right equipment/gear.Visualize success and then plan for it.

Learn from others. When you’re learning something new and different, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel – ask for others’ experiences. Learning from others can give you great insight into key elements for success. Someone who’s more accomplished can teach you lessons they’ve learned and some best practices.

Practice. It really does makes a difference and each time it gets a little easier.

Don’t give up. Use strength and balance to keep yourself motivated and working towards your goal. Learn from each attempt and adjust accordingly, but keep trying. Determination is a key ingredient for success.

Define & celebrate incremental “success.” Start with something simple that will be a building block for later success. In stand up paddle boarding incremental successes can be laying on the board, kneeling on the board, standing on the board and finally paddling on the board and looking smooth while doing it.

What life lessons have you learned this summer? We want to know!