My Friend, a Three Time Stand-Up-Paddleboard World Champion, Fiona Wylde
A few words shared from a 3x SUP World Champion, Wing Foil Champion, Waterwoman, Student, Coach, Wylde Wind & Water Founder, and Type 1 Diabetic.
Surely each of us has experienced feeling adrift and lost in the sea of life, moments when it seems the last drops of our motivation are drained, making room for weariness and a gnawing sense of frustration. What do you do? Do you allow yourself to rest by letting go of everything and surrendering to the waves of worries and anxieties that threaten to overwhelm you?These inner conflicts have at times overshadowed all other thoughts within me, leaving behind a complex and unpleasant mix of emotions. Fortunately, I unexpectedly found a friend, someone who has gone through so much and achieved so big goals, who sat down with me to talk about herself, and her journey to find the balance on the waves of life.
That friend is Fiona Wylde, an athlete with a truly impressive and admirable background.
A bit about Fiona …
Wylde is a 28-year-old, three-time world champion in SUP (standup paddleboarding) and Wing Foil (a type of boardsailing) who grew up in Oregon and currently lives in Hood River.
She describes life currently as quite peaceful and on the right track she has set for herself – truly admirable, especially since this peace coexists with a fact that she’s a world-class professional athlete, alongside owning and managing her own company, while simultaneously preparing to finish her undergraduate degree at Oregon State University (due in June, a bachelor’s degree in geography and geospatial science).
And, let’s not forget that she’s also teaching water sports and water safety education. She reached over 2,500 people through her nonprofit program called Wylde Wind & Water last year (the programs are available in both English and Spanish, and are recommended to all!).
What’s even more shocking is that she has been doing all of this while living with Type 1 diabetes. (Meanwhile, I’m over here racking my brain just trying to decide what to eat this morning.)
As if that weren’t enough, Wylde has also decided to strive to get into med school. If I had to use one word to summarize her path, “insane” would be my No. 1 choice.
The passion that keeps Fiona being Fiona
Just like many others, Wylde has her own daily difficulties and strives to overcome those challenges she has chosen in the 10-plus years of her journey, all without losing her enthusiasm and spirit of continuous improvement. So, what is it that makes Fiona so resilient and strong?
She told me it’s the passion she has for her work, for learning, and for the choices she has made, combined with determination and perseverance. This motivates her to wake up every morning to confront and face the hurdles and to learn new things that were still a mystery to her the day before.
To her, becoming a world champion is secondary; what’s more important is being able to wholeheartedly pursue what she’s passionate about – surfing, conquering challenges, and becoming a role model for others, to meet up with more people so that she can know and understand them. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t enjoy being famous; she simply enjoys the milestones and the joys that come from pursuing her passion, just like any other normal person.
Between work, competition, study and a personal life …
How can Wylde regulate and manage these things effectively? For there are times when hard choices must be made, when everything happens at once. What will be the top priority?
Wylde shared that, for her, family and her own health will always be the top choices and priorities, and then other things come after. Her busy life is nearly always filled with countless choices, and there are times when everything piles up at once. She said her choice will depend on what is most important at that moment.
“Say we have a big exam in school. Well, that’s going to be the No. 1… if I am training for a world championship … I’m going to put a bit more hours towards that, and in terms of the organization, like, if we’re hiring… staff and whatnot, that’s where I’m going to put my attention and focus it there.
“Oftentimes in life, as it does, those things tend to happen at the same time. And so that’s just when you need to kind of create a schedule and set realistic goals for each one and do your best. At the end of the day, like there are going to be a lot of times where I feel like I didn’t do what I should, but all you can do is your best.”
Balancing the Ride
Wylde shared that she has been through a lot of those moments where she just felt overwhelmed. Stepping back and catching her breath, then looking again and rearranging, as well as reconsidering what is important and necessary to start doing, is how she said she faces those pressures – calmly and patiently. (Ultimately, even if you achieve everything but have to trade away your own health and happiness, it’s truly not worth it.)
My thoughts
Our human life is somehow a look-a-like to voyaging/surfing on a vast, boundless ocean.
It can enchant us with the serenity and stillness it creates, allowing us to float along and savor the peace and contentment it brings to our souls. It can also suddenly turn against us, relentlessly seeking to drown us in a swift and brutal onslaught of merciless, violent waves.
And then, after those fierce waves, it leaves us with dreary, heartbreaking rainy days, merely waiting for the moment we become weary and give up and abandon hope – so it can swallow us into its hungry belly, into the endless night of its deep waters.
Therefore, let us be warriors, always ready for battle, truly resilient in facing life, the raging waves, and the weary, gloomy days, to attain what we have always longed for and set our sights on. But most importantly, let us truly listen to the voice within our hearts, and feel it clearly, so that we may recognize what our true dreams are.
Leave a comment