losing out

something i've thought about for some time is the inability to progress, or even visualize progress, by taking a more conservative course.  the best analogy i can find is in surfing:  i often find myself wishing i could elevate to another level in terms of control or consistency, but often debate with myself when actually riding waves whether i should try something new, untried, or unexpected? or whether i should just play it safe hoping to get to the next section or get a little further on the wave.  most often, the wave either closes out or dies out anyway leaving me wishing i had played it differently.  the thing is, you sometimes have to be willing to lose out on the possibility of going a bit further in order to learn and thus really progress.  i know, situations (crowded or otherwise critical) often foster a conservative position because you never know when your next opportunity might be to 'lose out'.  i guess this goes along with my earlier thoughts on restraint and patience.  and understanding that larger cycles and patterns exist that will shift or ebb allowing you another chance.  have you ever been out when you see some guy sitting way further out or out of the packed lineup than everyone else, seemingly out of it and otherwise lost at sea?  he may sit there for a long time, all the while you're stressing through the throngs, when all of a sudden that one rogue wide one swings in and of all people, he's the only one in position to actually deal with it.  sometimes the one epic wave can be enough and be worth the wait.  i can still remember particular epic waves imbibed in my memory bank from decades prior.  that's how indelible those memories are and how special individual waves can be.  thus, making it difficult to jeapordize those moments...but what actually may make those moments particular are their existence outside the bounds of complacency.