CamG
Contributor
Greetings fellow divers and soon to be divers I have pondered this topic for some time.
I began my journey into diving in 2007 and when certified in May of 07 my level of awareness was pretty limited to very basic OW dives with strictly recreational gear.
My instructor MSDT Mark and DM Linda were ever encouraging and I began to grow.
They challenged me to strive for higher levels of awareness and to master skills and take my diving to a different level.
Not to settle for just good enough but to be the best diver I could be!
To be challenged and encouraged to excellence is a powerful tool that can gain its own momentum.
My dive skills, AWARENESS steadily grew as well. I had bumps in the road skills that took longer to master, struggles are a part of growth.
I had to carve out habits and or attitudes to allow for my progressive evolution into the dive goals I had set for myself.
Early on in my diving MSDT Mark spoke of setting dive goals and when you reach those goals dare to dream to seek higher more challenging goals.
I learned that through determination and commitment to master skills and being in the water I could conquer many things I deemed impossible.
The journey I have undertaken has changed me very deeply and I take my diving very differently than most.
It has become a way of life that has fueled my normal life as well.
Thus to the point that at times I grow very impatient or less than tolerant of less than stellar behavior on behalf of divers I deem able to dive to a higher level of awareness.
I have witnessed the skills of new students less than 10 dives blow away divers of 3-5 years and multiple dives. Why is this? COMPLACENCY plan and simple!
There are divers out there who once they complete their certification rarely if ever continue to work on continued mastery of skills.
This is unacceptable for many reasons; safety of the diver, safety of the environment, and safety of other divers.
Every diver has the freedom to pursue what ever dive goals they so choose.
Not every divers is created equally either I have become acutely aware of this principal.
I am not faulting those who were not taught any different.
Instructors are not exempt from this nor are mentors as we all have to moving forward to stay current.
Every diver needs to strive for and continue to strive for a growing level of AWARENESS!
I believe that this alone will encourage us all to become better divers.
There is no stopping point to learning to a diver, whether you are a OW or a Tech diver you can halt training but if you stop learning you are in trouble!
COMPLACENCY will creep into your skill set and soon you will find minor issues turn into Major ones. Every diver needs to review and master not once but continue to do so. Diving to work on skills is not a drag it can be as fun as we decide it will be!
I just want to encourage new and old divers to keep those skills fresh and if you are struggling seek help.
DO NOT SETTLE FOR JUST GOOD!
STRIVE TO BE THE BEST DIVER YOU CAN BE!
STAY IN THE WATER THAT IS WHERE WE LEARN!
Good luck and keep those skills current!
CamG Keep diving....Keep training....Keep learning!
I began my journey into diving in 2007 and when certified in May of 07 my level of awareness was pretty limited to very basic OW dives with strictly recreational gear.
My instructor MSDT Mark and DM Linda were ever encouraging and I began to grow.
They challenged me to strive for higher levels of awareness and to master skills and take my diving to a different level.
Not to settle for just good enough but to be the best diver I could be!
To be challenged and encouraged to excellence is a powerful tool that can gain its own momentum.
My dive skills, AWARENESS steadily grew as well. I had bumps in the road skills that took longer to master, struggles are a part of growth.
I had to carve out habits and or attitudes to allow for my progressive evolution into the dive goals I had set for myself.
Early on in my diving MSDT Mark spoke of setting dive goals and when you reach those goals dare to dream to seek higher more challenging goals.
I learned that through determination and commitment to master skills and being in the water I could conquer many things I deemed impossible.
The journey I have undertaken has changed me very deeply and I take my diving very differently than most.
It has become a way of life that has fueled my normal life as well.
Thus to the point that at times I grow very impatient or less than tolerant of less than stellar behavior on behalf of divers I deem able to dive to a higher level of awareness.
I have witnessed the skills of new students less than 10 dives blow away divers of 3-5 years and multiple dives. Why is this? COMPLACENCY plan and simple!
There are divers out there who once they complete their certification rarely if ever continue to work on continued mastery of skills.
This is unacceptable for many reasons; safety of the diver, safety of the environment, and safety of other divers.
Every diver has the freedom to pursue what ever dive goals they so choose.
Not every divers is created equally either I have become acutely aware of this principal.
I am not faulting those who were not taught any different.
Instructors are not exempt from this nor are mentors as we all have to moving forward to stay current.
Every diver needs to strive for and continue to strive for a growing level of AWARENESS!
I believe that this alone will encourage us all to become better divers.
There is no stopping point to learning to a diver, whether you are a OW or a Tech diver you can halt training but if you stop learning you are in trouble!
COMPLACENCY will creep into your skill set and soon you will find minor issues turn into Major ones. Every diver needs to review and master not once but continue to do so. Diving to work on skills is not a drag it can be as fun as we decide it will be!
I just want to encourage new and old divers to keep those skills fresh and if you are struggling seek help.
DO NOT SETTLE FOR JUST GOOD!
STRIVE TO BE THE BEST DIVER YOU CAN BE!
STAY IN THE WATER THAT IS WHERE WE LEARN!
Good luck and keep those skills current!
CamG Keep diving....Keep training....Keep learning!
