It’s that time of year again, and we all know it. New Year’s resolutions are one of the most widely held traditions and are practiced all around the world. People in all different countries make promises to themselves, that the New Year will be different, and that this year they will do something in particular. Whether it be to exercise more, lose weight, save money, quit smoking or travel more – we can all reel off the list of typical resolutions both made and broken! According to a recent poll, some of the most popular New Year’s resolutions for 2018 are as follows;
The Most Popular New Year’s Resolutions for 2018
- Eat better
- Spend less money
- Exercise more
- Self-care (i.e. get more sleep)
- Learn a new skill
- Read more books
- Make new friends
- Get a new job
- Focus more on appearance
- Get a new hobby
With the New Year already here, it’s not too late to add to your resolutions. And being a scuba diver, we can perhaps somewhat reflect some of these typical resolutions to meet our own reality of the underwater life of scuba! So let us at Ocean Scuba Dive impose upon and suggest some scuba related resolutions for you to consider, 10 New Year’s Scuba Diving resolutions!
10 New Year’s Scuba Diving Resolutions
1. Get Scuba Certified
If you have ever considered becoming a certified scuba diver? Why not make it happen this year, and plan your Open Water Diver training in 2018! Learn more about the sport and really test the waters. If you have a limited amount of dive on your next trip or plan to take a course near home, look into some online training programs or e-Learning to get ahead with your studies and complete in your own time. This really makes it easier than it ever has been.
Scuba diving is not like any other sport and it really opens up a new world full of opportunity and wonders, that you can only really begin to imagine! Not only this, but it is very often that scuba divers mention how scuba diving has changed the way they look at life and the world they are surrounded by. Taking your Open Water Diver certification dive this year will be a true life milestone.
2. Upskill & Refresh your Scuba Training
A couple of years ago, the Diver Alert Network completed a survey. It was discovered that a large percentage, 97%, of inactive divers still actually consider themselves divers. The majority of these people plan on diving again. Great! But, let’s not forget that even though you may be certified, and your certification doesn’t ever expire, it is recommended that you take a refresher course if you haven’t been diving in over 18 months.
There are programs which will help you get refreshed and straight back in the water without any issues. SSI offers a Scuba Skills update and PADI offers a program called ReActivate™. Even the most experienced divers should go back to basics occasionally to ensure that their skills are in top shape.
3. Set a Goal of Scuba Dives you Plan to Complete
Resolutions are all about setting goals. Why not set a goal related to the number of dives you plan to do in 2018? Don’t set yourself up for failure, and make it achievable. If you are planning a dive holiday for 2018 already take this into consideration! Locate your nearest dive center and plan some dives throughout the year. Set your own goal based on the time you have available and also your desires.
A British scuba diver and War Veteran, Ray Woolley, created a similar goal on his birthday. He set his goal at the age of 93 to complete 39 dives in one year! He is now 94 years of age and is set on becoming the world’s oldest scuba diver!
He said: “I decided to try and do 39 dives in my 93rd year – 39@93 – but got a little carried away and did 51 instead! I just kept going.”
4. Challenge Yourself
If you don’t challenge yourself, you will never realize what you can become – a powerful quote. Because we can become anything! Challenge your scuba self this year and try something new. Take a look at some of the best dive locations in the world, dive with sharks, try a night dive or why not even try to get someone else into diving!
Consider if there are any areas of diving that you would like to try. It might be that you live somewhere which gets quite cold during the winter months and you are only used to diving in lovely tropical waters. Optimize your dive time and learn how to dive in a dry suit!
Perhaps you have never been wreck diving before, but it has always been something you have wanted to try. Make 2018 the year to do just that! Dive the SS Yongala wreck, a wreck which is considered to offer some of the best wreck diving in the world!
5. Create a Scuba Bucket List
What is a Bucket List I hear you ask? Bucket List – a number of experiences or achievements that a person hopes to have or accomplish during their lifetime (or before they kick the bucket!). So, you guessed it, a Scuba Bucket List is a bucket list related to everything scuba! Whether it be scuba diving locations, trying different types of scuba diving, a new certification or something like Mr. Woolley aiming for the world’s oldest scuba diver!
The setting of goals for yourself has actually been proven to improve not only the quality of your life but it may also help you to live longer. I feel it is very important to set goals in your life and to work towards them. You may notice that retired people with certain goals, always seem more active than those without. Helping them lead a healthier lifestyle. Did you know that the average age for a scuba diver is near retirement age? This is partly because the number of new divers over 55 is almost the same as those under the age of 21.
Once you have written down these goals of yours and created your very own bucket list, slowly move towards accomplishing some of the items on the list and then move forward and add more. Again, try to make your goals realistic and achievable. They don’t have to all be completed within the year. I personally have a Life Bucket List which I plan to complete by the age of 50 (then start a new one!). Within that list I have (with difficulty) noted 10 scuba diving destinations I plan to visit and dive. There were of course too many places to list in reality where I want to dive, but those were the ones that appealed to me the most.
6. Book a Dive Holiday
Unfortunately, there are too many people in the world that allow themselves to become toxic with levels of stress. I work in central London and I personally come across this every single day. I have been at times, even a victim of it myself. That’s one of the reasons I decided to build Ocean Scuba Dive. Planning a holiday gives you something to look forward to. A light at the end of the tunnel of stress. Even just for a short amount of time.
The holiday itself with do a great deal to help eliminate your stress levels and make you to relax. Scuba diving is also a great way to release stress. So why not mix both and book a dive holiday this year!
If family members aren’t interested in scuba diving, then pick a location which will meet everyone’s needs. Mini-vacations are also something that has become very popular over the past couple of years and should be something to consider! If you can’t get that much time off of work just add a vacation day onto a weekend for a short break, you will still be able to have time to chill and include a few dives! Win win.
7. Volunteer
Volunteering is a great thing, and nowadays there are so many different types of volunteering available worldwide. Depending on the time you have available and also the budget. Some volunteer programs can be quite costly, but the experience you get out of them is priceless.
Volunteer abroad this year with some marine conversation volunteering, or maybe you could become a citizen scientist. The United States Government’s NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is one of many government organizations that welcomes volunteers with open arms. Scuba divers within the United Kingdom are also able to look to Historic England who needs volunteers to look after their historical shipwrecks.
There are so many other conservation and environmental both government and NGO organizations that are able to use the skills of certified recreational divers as they pursue their organizational objectives. Get involved this year!
8. Try Underwater Photography
Scuba diving offers so many once in a lifetime opportunities and sites on every dive. The best way to capture those moments is with an underwater camera. If this is something you want to try to do some research about basic principles of underwater photography. Who knows, you could enter your photos into certain scuba competitions and be featured in award-winning images for Underwater Photographer of the Year! Take a look at last year’s winners for some inspiration.
Photo by Ben Hicks
9. Give Back to the Ocean
Marine conservation is something that should be on all of our agendas. Scuba divers are advocates of the ocean. Many of us feel like we have to protect it, and the truth is we do! If we don’t we could be at risk of losing something we love and something that is so vital to our lives. There are so many ways that you can help. Why not adopt a marine animal, or donate to a marine conservation charity? Buy a product that supports a great cause. If you are a lover of sharks, purchase a Sugar Shark Bracelet to help contribute towards shark conservation. Support the ocean clean up by purchasing a 4Ocean bracelet and remove 1lbs. of rubbish from the sea!
Small contributions can help towards a big change. Remember what made you want to start scuba diving to begin with, and how your first dive made you feel. What you loved about it, which animals you saw. You can even help with each dive, just by removing any rubbish or reporting debris in the ocean.
10. Do Something Every Week that you Love
And last but not least, is an important one. Something that many of us forget to do. Do one thing every week that you truly love. New Year’s resolutions are not always about changing negative parts in your life. They can also be focused on celebrating the good things too. Whether it is just 10 minutes a week, take the time to read Good News stories, watch something that will make you laugh, do a good deed and not expect anything in return.
Find a way to treat yourself on a small scale each week. Save towards that new scuba gear you want, that dive holiday you want to go one or even that surprise trip to Malta to take your boyfriend scuba diving for the very first time! Believe me. It is all worth it in the end.
So that’s all from me today. I wanted to take the time to wish you all the very best in whatever you wish to do in 2018. Make this year count. It is true that not everything that will happen to us in this coming year is within our control, but, know that we do have control over much that we do.
Make it the best year possible for you, your family and for the world. Remember to share your New Year’s Resolutions below!
