Lifelong Learning: Lessons from Whitewater Kayaking and Why We Should Embrace the Process

This post is one part personal journey and one part advice for anyone considering taking on a new challenge

A Love of Learning

I have always thought of myself as someone who loves to learn. I enjoy learning new languages, new games, fun facts about linguistics, culture, psychology…the list goes on.

The only problem is this: the more I learn about a subject, the less fun and interesting it seems. Why is that? Am I just a quitter? Not willing to work hard? Scatter-brained?

But surely I’m not the only one. Surely, other people experience this too. I can’t be the only person who enjoys a little beginner’s luck now and again but rarely achieves mastery of a topic. Right?

Right! I only recently started thinking hard about the Stages of Learning (more on why later), and I realized that this phenomenon is absolutely, 100% normal.

I Could Do That! (aka Unconscious Incompetence)

My partner and I moved to South Carolina in December of 2013. Soon after arriving, we attended the Millrace Massacre and Iceman Championships, the annual whitewater kayak race that takes place every January in Columbia, SC.

We loved every part of it: the action, the community, being outdoors, petting people’s dogs…and it planted a seed, “Hmmm…I wonder if I should try whitewater kayaking…”

I shared my enthusiasm with my new co-workers, and a few months later, one of them connected us with a local group that provides instruction: Whitewater 101. My husband was a little apprehensive about the whole thing (wouldn’t it be dangerous?), which becomes more interesting later on.

But we decided to sign up for their 6-week course and started counting down the days. Little did we know this would be the beginning of a beautiful opportunity for friendship, adventure, self-reflection, and self-development.

Ignorance is Bliss

I don’t think I can sufficiently articulate how much fun I had during my first few weeks of kayak instruction. I cheered and jumped up and down the first time I did a wet exit in a swimming pool. (For those that don’t know, a “wet exit” is where you flip over, pull your spray skirt off the boat, and essentially push yourself/fall out of your boat into the water…not exactly a display of great skill. Demo video here.)

I enjoyed every minute of it. Learning to paddle, roll, self-rescue. It was all great.

Until it wasn’t.

I soon became aware that I knew next to nothing about whitewater kayaking, which leads me to the next phase of learning…

Conscious Incompetence

I suddenly became fearful of flipping over, swimming whitewater, and failing in front of my friends and teachers. Out-of-town trips to various rivers in the Southeast made me anxious, and I didn’t want to push myself for fear of getting into a precarious situation.

I had truly irrational fear and struggled to get the time in my boat that I so desperately needed if I wanted to improve.

So, what did I do? I doubled down. I signed up to be a “safety boater” for Whitewater 101 and attended all the classes to help keep an eye on the beginners. My husband did the same, and we both saw marked improvement in our paddling ability.

He eventually earned his Level 4 whitewater kayaking instructor certification through the ACA (American Canoe Association), but I wasn’t ready. I still felt hesitation and fear when it came to whitewater.

Instead of focusing on learning how to maneuver my boat, I focused on the negatives (ie, excuses):

• not having enough time to paddle due to increased responsibility at work,
• weight gain, which made my boat perform differently (more squirrelly!),
• the hassle of logistics to get to the river (often 2-4 hours away, depending on the river).

When I did get out on the river, I felt like I wasn’t in control; like the river was pushing me around and my strokes and roll weren’t reliable. So, what did I do?

Just a couple months ago, I decided to force myself to commit further and signed up for an ACA Instructor Certification Workshop with H2o Dreams. In other words, I decided to get certified to teach!

Conscious Competence

Leading up to and in between weekends of the ICW, I paddled a bunch! I researched a bunch! I studied teaching methods and paddle strokes, boat design and physics, psychology and emotional intelligence.

Once I forced myself to get back into the boat that I began to see the strokes and combat rolls come more naturally.

I had recently quit my job and had the luxury of time to develop my skills and knowledge. I knew what I needed to do and put in the time. We only had two weeks between our ICW weekends, but I embarked on the process of learning to be a good instructor.

This past weekend was the final “exam” or evaluation of skills. And my efforts were rewarded…

Unconscious Competence (in some areas)

I was able to earn my Level 3 Whitewater Kayaking Instructor certification with an endorsement to teach rolling (normally reserved for Level 4 instructors). Like I said, my efforts were rewarded. Let’s recap those efforts…

• spent plenty of time in class II whitewater
• drilled my strokes and roll technique for hours on end
• practiced teaching
• spent hours reading and watching videos about the physics of kayaking

And where did I not put forth much effort? Getting comfortable going wherever I wanted in a class III rapid. I went as far as to paddle the French Broad River, Section 9, where I knew we’d be doing our ICW final evaluation, but limited myself to running the traditional lines, catching a few eddies here and there, and trying to stay upright.

Looking back, I didn’t really push myself to be comfortable and in control on class III whitewater. I was stuck in follower mode, seeking a check in the box rather than personal development.

And what skill held me back from earning the Level 4 certification? You guessed it: comfort and control in class III whitewater. While I was able to push so many other skills into the Unconscious Competence stage, I left this one behind in the Conscious Competence stage (occasionally slipping back to Conscious Incompetence!) Bummer.

Lifelong Learning

It was tempting for me to consider “control in class III” as a different or more specialized skill because of my own personal choices to always teach with other instructors and focus on beginners primarily paddling class I/II. However, I am choosing to take the advice of my Instructor Trainers to heart; for instance, taking a systematic approach to improving my control in class III.

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I already have the formula for improvement as evidenced by my control in class II, delivery of difficult material in a simple way, and demonstration-quality strokes and roll in flatwater. Somehow I forgot that I was not born doing these things, and I worked hard to get there.

Now, I need to apply that same approach to class III and most importantly, give myself space and time to get there. Just goes to show, you can tell someone something a hundred times, but if they don’t figure it out on their own, it remains a concept and never becomes action, let alone accomplishment.

And what will happen once I bring my class III control/comfort up to snuff? Hopefully, I’ll find something else that needs work and continue learning.

That’s what I hope to eventually embrace and learn to love: the process of learning should never end. There is always room to explore. There is always something else the river can teach us.

What have you been learning lately? Anyone else blessed with chronic beginner’s luck? What struggles have you overcome to get to where you are today? I didn’t feel compelled to discuss the 5th stage of learning: Flow/Mastery, because I’m not sure I know what that looks like. Has anyone achieved this level of learning? Leave a comment below!