A simple tumble off a paddleboard became a profound moment of clarity for Naomi Holdt, who shared some food for thought on how we tend to focus a little too much on everything that could go wrong instead of the good things that reside in our own lanes.
Hilton, South Africa (08 April 2025) – A young fall off her paddleboard reminded Naomi Holdt of one of life’s key lessons – to focus on our own lanes.
To provide a bit of context, Naomi had been out on her paddleboard last week when she fell over in the water – something that hadn’t happened to her in about five years. The only reason why she did it was because she was far too fixated on an approaching boat in the near distance, and she hit some rocks in very shallow water.
“As a result, I was abruptly catapulted onto said rocks, scratching my ankle, before quickly belly-flopping back onto my board (knowing I was now being watched by all on board the boat) and proceeding to do a rapid surfers ‘hand paddle’ to deeper waters,” Naomi reflects.
“All part of the plan… not!”
However, this particular awkward moment got her thinking about how we so often take our eyes off our own lanes and focus too much on the potential obstacles heading our way.
“We so easily become derailed, and end up not-so-elegantly coming off our life boards,” the qualified psychologist shares.
While she isn’t advocating that we ignore the obstacles that may or may not come our way, Naomi stresses that when we focus so much on all that could go wrong, not only do we miss the beauty right in front of us, but we stumble over the very things we could have easily navigated had we just kept a balanced awareness.
“That boat was never going to collide with me, but by fixating all my attention on it, I knocked myself off course and into those annoyingly in-the-way sharp rocks.”
In a nutshell, there’s so much more to appreciate than to worry about and oftentimes worrying too much about problems we think are coming our way (problems that most often never materialise), may create real problems in the present.
So what can we do instead?
“Focus forward, but stay present. Navigate the obstacles with calm awareness rather than anxious fixation,” Naomi advises.
Now, that’s some food for thought.
Sources: Naomi Holdt
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