My heart rate was still elevated, and panic continued to creep in, but I’d regained enough of my composure to make a conscious One-Second Decision to stay in the fight. That took mental fortitude because the water hadn’t suddenly warmed up. I was still cold and miserable and staring at 130 hours of Hell. But I was able to see that the life I desired was on the other side of surf torture. I did not cave into emotion and quit. When people do that, they aren’t even making an actual decision to quit. It’s a default reaction due to stress.
