How to make Scuba Diving a hobby for life!

Life is crazy, right?  We are all running around the clock with work, school, kids, church, as well as chasing opportunities, deals, sales. Oh, and I forgot to mention that we need some time to sleep in order to recover from all that stress we have acquired during our daily race.  So what's left you ask? Time for other activities, hobbies and sports?  I would say there is not much time left for these, don't you agree?  And even with all that leftover time, we are trying to jam it into the most effective calorie burning apparatus called the treadmill or whatever you use to work out in the gym.  But, how about fun?  How about excitement, adventures, exploration, discovery and physical activity altogether?  You think it is not possible?  In fact it is possible and very easy to achieve.

Before we will continue any further let me show you some interesting facts on how scuba diving HELPS us in our lives. We have seen a million times on TV and every magazine published, that regular physical activity (sports) creates tremendous health benefits.  What are those, you ask?
Sports:
•                    Helps control weight (hot topic these days, isn't?)
•                    Helps to reduce stress and promotes overall psychological well-being
•                    Helps to reduce risk of depression and anxiety
•                    Helps to reduce risks of high blood pressure
•                    Helps improving performance at work!
•                    Helps to reduce risk of premature death
•                    Helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints
•                    Helps to reduce risk of heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer
Guess what, Scuba diving is not a competitive sport, so we are sharing all of the benefits listed above. Remember your Open Water Certification class? You have already succeeded in applied training!  You showed physical ability to perform such an activity. And now as a trained scuba diver, you already have many attributes necessary to benefit from the sport in your life.  Examples?  Here we go:  You already enjoy new challenges – this reduces risk of depression and anxiety!  Planning and focusing to meet the demands of your certification - improves performance at work and reducing stress and etc...

Stay Active all year round – you live in the south – dive all the time.  You live up north – maybe ice dives are for you, if not, pools are still available and there are many training centers offering winter classes and refreshers.  Some of you might ask:  OK, I do all of this but as I am getting in my 50's and 60's,  am I too old for this? The answer is:  Absolutely not!  You should not stop doing something you love to do.  In fact, there is a significantly large portion of divers in the United States in their 50's and 60's.  Of course, do not forget to do your annual checkups with your doctor.  Which is even more important at this age to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. These days, certification agencies are heavily targeting younger crowds in an effort to bring fresh blood into this sport.

Now you might say:  But I have no diving buddy, I am all alone!  In my opinion, the key is to promote your lifestyle!  Involve your family and loved ones, friends and people you know. Communicate your enthusiasm and you will see they will take it! Just getting your family involved is the easiest and most sure way. This alone makes scuba diving a lifelong hobby for everyone!  Because everywhere you go, your family can share the same experience:  exciting adventures, new discoveries, and the unknown of the underwater world!  And after the dive, share the details of the experience with your loved ones, talk about it, discuss what you saw, how you felt, check the names of the fish together and many, many more... There is so much about bringing your family to scuba diving I could write an entire article just about how you can spend quality time with your family while diving.

Scuba Diving is a very social activity. Many of my friends who decided to try scuba diving later on noticed that it is like a club or a very friendly society group.  As much time as you spend underwater, you spend more time out of the water which gives you space to meet like-minded people, learn from others, share ideas and to make new friends.  Don't be afraid to participate in conversation even if it is your first time on that dive boat. Everyone will welcome you and guarantee you will enjoy your boat ride to the dive spot.  That is how I met a lot of my friends.

Another very important moment is a continuous education and practice.  The more classes I was taking, the more knowledge and skills I was getting about scuba diving, the more interesting this subject was getting for me.  The best way to make your skills rock solid is training.  Continuous practice is everything in scuba diving, it is the key to your excellent skills and underwater confidence. Your first scuba class - it is like a portal, which opens up a whole new world for you.  A Mind-blowing amount of classes are right in front of you. Continuous education not only gives you knowledge, it gives you experience and confidence. Confidence not only in your skills, as they continue to improve through your education, it gives you confidence in the life. You are no longer afraid of new things, you are quickly adapting to new changes, and you are seeking new experiences. How wonderful is this? Do you know that shock and denial to change is the first natural human reaction? And here you are not only passing on denial you are looking for change because you want to see new things, have new experiences...how exciting is this? Do you know how much money companies do spend on all sorts of training for process of change? And here is a perfect opportunity – you need none of this. You are ready to take it!

These minor modifications to your lifestyle can have a huge bearing on your lifelong health and performance.  Most important, being physically active can positively affect your physical and emotional well-being and enhance your overall performance.  What does this mean for you?  You will be able to participate in diving for many decades to come. You will have your hobby and sport for life!