I want to look at rowing today; cross compare a rowing team with life. In a rowing team it can have many different formats, in this we will be looking at a team with a coxswain (pronounced cox’n). If you aren’t familiar with the role of a coxswain they are the one responsible for the direction of the boat using a rudder and are the only person seeing where the boat is heading.
Basic similarities
It doesn’t entirely matter how many people are rowing the boat, this will only impact the speeds at which the course can be achieved in. The place we want to make sure we are in is the position of the coxswain; if we are not in this position our life can be misdirected and never reach any goal.
My crew
As it says, my crew; the people in your life who encourage and inspire you; those we surround ourselves with who give us ‘momentum’ forward. These people are the crew; they provide the speed and the drive to get us moving faster towards our goals.
Not all crew members are close or personal contacts, we can have people we admire professionally; they could be people we have mentoring you. Your crew can be as big or small but remember you want your strongest members up close to the coxswain; this is where the most ‘exertion’ is.
How do I know if my crew is doing their job?
This is where you have to select your crew, you have to pick people who will give you the momentum you need to achieve the goals you want and who will help you achieve them quickest. You pick mentors and people around you who love you and want to see you do well; family and good friends. If you select your crew at random or you feel you need more momentum maybe it’s time to find new people to become your crew.
You can be part of another person’s crew
Just like you have your crew, life is full of different races; you aren’t competing for every possible job or opportunity out there. You could be part of somebody else’s crew; they might need you to step up and start to provide more momentum to their goals and find more ways to encourage them.
Who is my competition then?
Each race is different, just like when you go to a job interview your opponents are always different to you as a parent, or as a volunteer. As humans we want to be achievers, this is something we get taught from a young age. So why do we stop with it there and become an adult and things change?
Mix it up
Depending on the race, you can mix up the people you want in your crew for that race. Sometimes you might ‘sub someone’ you go with a stronger candidate who knows more about the race you are going into. Not all races are once and done, sometimes you might get a repeat performance and you can tweak the crew to suit better.
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