Quote of the day by Laird Hamilton: ‘Make sure your worst enemy doesn’t live between your own two ears’

"Make sure your worst enemy doesn’t live between your own two ears." This is a famous quote by American surfer Laird Hamilton. The words emphasise that your biggest obstacle is your own mind.

What the quote means

Laird Hamilton's quote is about self-sabotage. He basically tries to convey the message that negative self-talk is what defeats you.

If you end up telling yourself that you are not good enough, or if you feel that achieving a task is impossible, then you have accepted defeat even before you start working towards a particular goal.

Your "worst enemy" is basically the voice of that fear, doubt and insecurity. Hamilton is a big-wave surfer and the nature of the sport of surfing is such that the stakes are high, almost as if it is about life or death.

He is aware that the body is capable of doing more than what the mind thinks it can do. Should your enemy between your ears convince you to panic while dropping into a massive wave, your body tends to follow that panic. It is only once you silence your enemy, your true potential starts to take over.

Where it comes from

There is no clear source as to where Hamilton's quote comes from, but he has used variations of this quote while appearing on TV shows like The Joe Rogan Experience and The Tim Ferriss Show.

He also discusses the physiological demands of big-wave surfing in his biographical documentary titled Take Every Wave. He feels that when you are riding huge waves, fear is natural, but "letting the enemy take up residence" is what could get you killed.

How to apply it today

Notice negative self-talk: You have to observe yourself and notice if you are self-talking negatively. You should get rid of negative thoughts like "I will mess this up" or "Everyone else is better than me".

Challenge the thought instead of accepting it: In this step, ask yourself questions like "is this true" or "do I know this for sure"? If you are facing a daunting task, don't think too much into it. Focus on step-by-step activities to achieve your goal.

Take action: Take the necessary action instead of thinking too much. For example, if you have an exam, you must start studying instead of worrying about the exam. Most importantly, you have to stop replaying mistakes all day. You should learn from your mistakes, but at the same time you shouldn't have negative thoughts like saying: “I’m terrible at everything.”

About Laird Hamilton

Laird Hamilton was born on 2 March, 1964 in San Francisco, California, and raised up in Hawaii. He was a pioneer of tow-in surfing.

Before the 1990s, waves more than 30 feet were considered unrideable, because humans simply couldn't paddle fast enough to catch them.

Hamilton and his "Strapped Crew" consisting of Darrick Doerne and Buzzy Kerbox changed this as they used jet skis for tow-ins. Laird Hamilton and his waterman Dave Kalama popularised the modern stand-up paddleboarding, wherein riders stand upright on a large board and use a single-bladed paddle to navigate through the water.

In 2006, Hamilton famously paddled through the English Channel on a surfboard, and has even completed several inter-island crossings in Hawaii. In 2000, Hamilton rode the Millennium Wave at Teahupo'o, Tahiti.

Hamilton dropped into a wave so strong that it defied the laws of physics at the time. It is considered by historians and surf experts as the heaviest ever wave ridden in the history of surfing.

Hamilton was inducted into the Surfers' Hall of Fame in 2002, and in 2016, he was also inducted to the Surfing Walk of Fame, with both of them located in California's Huntington Beach.