Show off and dive: Why depths are not a measure of value
An honest look into the culture of scuba diving and how to build a healthier, more balanced relationship with the sport.
In the diving community, depth sometimes becomes an identity, and this distorts the relationship with the sport and poses a real danger.
The problem of depth racing
When the goal becomes to show off at a deeper depth, the diver begins to exceed his natural limits in order to prove something to others and not to achieve something for himself.
What is really good depth
A good depth is the depth you reach with complete calm and relaxation and return from it without panic or exaggeration. It may be 10 meters today and it may be 40 tomorrow.
A diver's true value
A good diver is not the one who reaches the deepest, but the one who patiently accompanies beginners, who sees the most details at the smallest depth, and who always returns safely.
How to build a healthy relationship with the depths
- Set a personal, not a comparative, goal
- Celebrate every progress, no matter how small
- I consider retreating sometimes as a success because knowing your limits is intelligence
The sea does not reward those who arrogantly challenge it. He rewards those who respect him with humility.