Start with the end in sight

What is your system for accomplishing something you do not enjoy doing or simply find really hard to do? Just in case this reminds you somewhat of one of the "7 habits of highly effective people" (begin with the end in mind), this is not a repeat! This is a personal insight about practical ways to achieve that goal in mind, which came, again, from my athletic endeavors. In this case I should rather say my efforts to keep my commitment to stay healthy though daily physical activities.

It’s too cold again to row outside so I am back to the rowing machine (!!) I do not enjoy using the erg (rower's slang for rowing machine), but I do want to stay healthy and in shape. So I promised myself that no matter how much I hated it, I will use the erg for 35 min (yea, all you serious athletes can have a good laugh!) in the morning, several times a week. When I can row outside, on the water, an hour flies by easily, but I have to drag myself to get on the erg… It has helped that I finally developed the capacity to relax my brain while I use it, which in turn allows me to... think, something which came spontaneously when rowing outside. This might be my first erg-inspired post!

So this morning, when I forgot to set the timer to count down from 35 min as usual, after two minutes of trying to achieve my daily goal, I realized I will not be able to do it this way around, i.e., with the timer counting up! The odd discovery that I was able to make myself erg if the timer is shaving off from my goal (I can see the end), but not if I had a seemingly open-ended task ahead of me (psychologically, each move adding to it), set in motion my thinking about the process that allows me to accomplish goals through tasks I do not enjoy.

If I need to do something I do not like, the first effort is getting my brain engaged to make the commitment to the goal, then the brain will drag my body into it. And should the smallest thing come up, my brain tends to immediately find any excuses for which I should quit… On the other hand, when I enjoy doing something, my body does not need my brain to get engaged. My brain only jumps in should something that threatens to require me to quit; only then my brain finds all kinds of reasons (excuses?) for which I should still persist. Thus, I need to set a worthy mental goal and a concrete end for the task needed to achieve it. If the goal has value to me then I will just “suck it up” and go through the motions to accomplish it. I believe some may define it as “keeping the eye on the ball.” As a tactic, translating the goal into a concrete target, i.e., setting the time, distance, or number of repetitions, helps keeping me focused and makes it more manageable – then I can actually enjoy the feeling of “shaving off” my task: I have the end in sight.

The sports-inspired strategy works in life in general and business. First, defining a goal that is meaningful or a clear vision is essential. Then, translating them into tasks that are measurable and keeping count makes it doable. New research http://bit.ly/4sHSM indicates that “grit”, defined as perseverance, may be more important than intelligence or native talent to succeed. Not surprisingly it was found that it was essential to find a goal that can motivate us and sustain our interest long-term to summon up the grit… Where there is a will for an end in sight, there is a way!

Added note: Erg-ing after posting this got me... thinking: "what might I be losing by using this method?" The first thing that came to mind was limiting my goal. Of course, I am used to always exceeding them! What is the possibly I might go beyond 35 min counting up? Slim, I really tried several times. So, instead I started the process of talking myself into setting the timer to 40 min as one of my goals for the new year...
I also included a gadget to the right side - you can set it for your own challenge and see if my countdown tactics works for you!

"Get over yourself": be able to laugh at yourself

After learning to row and perfecting my technique and balance in a training single boat for almost a year, I finally decided it was time to graduate to a "skinny" style boat, the type normally used in competitions. Of course with this change came the next challenge, the realization that I should now begin working on getting good enough to race.

Finally, the day of my first novice race came. I had practiced for this day for the past few months and now I only had to put it to good use. We had travelled with my club to another city and I was now rowing a beautiful white skinny boat toward the starting dock. The boats in my race were called to align at the start line. Maneuvering in a tight space a skinny boat with its wide reaching oars is a task that can be daunting even for an experienced rower. Moreover, there were many referees and other competitors watching. I pulled all my power of concentration together and a few moments later I was happy to remark that I had a perfect alignment in the center of my lane. I rolled up my chair to the start position, a rather delicate balancing pose. It was time for me to calm down enough to hear the imminent cue that would unleash the explosive motion needed to the start the boat. The sky was blue, the water was calm, I could have not wished for any better conditions. I looked down the nicely buoy-aligned course, trying to visualize the finish line 1 K ahead, rapidly coming closer and closer to me. I felt the trepidation of the moment, like a race horse fidgeting before the gate opens, I had to close my eyes to calm down and get myself into 'the zone': "I can do this! I can do this!"

It seemed that it was taking way too long to hear the start signal. Instead, a voice booms through the loud speaker: "Atlanta Rowing club… we have a problem!" (?!?) That meant me! I opened my eyes, finally looking outside the zone I had put myself in. I noticed that all the referees on the shore were laughing… at me?!? The booming voice continued: "Atlanta Rowing club… you'll need to turn your boat… 180 degrees!" Taking another look at the other boats helped me finally realize that my boat was pointing in the wrong direction… If any rowers are reading this they had probably already understood my conundrum... for others it may not be evident, but one rows backward. I had aligned my boat at the start as if I was going to run, not row in the race! Yes, everybody was laughing, referees, competitors, I bet they all told the story about this novice rower who perfectly aligned her boat in the opposite direction that day, ready to crash it into the start dock. In fact, this was so stupid of me, that I started laughing about it myself! I laughed so hard that I completely relaxed. I turned the boat around quickly, I no longer worried about how competent I looked. There was nothing more stupid than what I had already done. I was still giggling when they finally called the start.

I rowed my first race laughing… at myself! The time seemed to fly away and I still remember the exhilaration I felt during that race as if it was yesterday. What was even more amazing is that I ended up winning that race!

Knowing what I know now after several years of rowing, I can pretty much attribute that first win to my ability to laugh at my naiveté. This allowed me to completely get over it and focus on rowing in the race. Making possibly the biggest, stupidest mistake right at the beginning, and then getting over it, freed me from worrying about any other possible inadequacies. This does not even take into account the fact that I had most likely disarmed my opponents: what competition could they possibly have expected from a novice who did not even know which way the boat was supposed to move?

If you are a novice, making mistakes is inevitable, but getting over it and over yourself, is up to you. Otherwise, if you are dealing with a novice, never discount one who feels that there is no face left to lose…

Individual vs. team success

For a long time, I rowed by myself, working on improving my technique. I asked for advice and I took lessons every chance I got. I went to rowing camp. I practiced. I practiced. And practiced some more. I finally felt that it was time to test myself and signed up for races. When I started doing well even against more experienced rowers, I felt I would no longer hold others back, and thus it would be OK to go ahead and team up with someone in a double boat.

My double partner is very competitive and very successful, and meeting him leaves no doubts about it... I am intensely competitive myself, but my contest is mainly against myself and so I tend to focus my energies differently. When we started rowing together, we had a hard time getting a smooth row so I suggested we take a coaching session in the double. The coach watched us for a while and gave us some specific individual advice; however, he added that while we were both accomplished rowers, the most important objective when aiming to successfully row in a team is: "This is not the time to concentrate on doing what usually works for your own personal best, all your efforts should go into understanding how you can help maximize the team's output."

The advice, as simple as it may seem, opened our eyes to the secret of optimizing team work: as part of a team, one has to adjust own capabilities and style to accommodate for the best fit with the other(s). We learned that could even mean de-emphasizing some of the very things that worked best for our individual competitive success. I am shorter than my partner, so I will have to stretch beyond the limit I perfected during years of practice to maintain the flawless balance of my single boat no matter what the speed. My partner, on the other hand, will have to actually cut short his reach effectively lowering his competitive output, so that our oars could remain parallel at all times. After the initial adjustment period, we started enjoying rowing together, and then we started doing very well competing as a team.

Team work comes with perks: we move easier by splitting the effort and can rely on each other to split the duties (one keeps the race pace, the other can concentrate on charting the course), and we encourage each other. And, yes, we do occasionally fight, but then we both always learn something from it… and we schedule yet another team row.

My playpen is gone, now what?!?

To be more exact, my playpen got frozen over night! This is exactly how the lake looks like this morning, frozen and covered with snow… They say a front of arctic blast hit us, no rowing for me obviously. So, now what?!?

I rapidly went through my options. Why not take it easy today, drink my coffee and read my book in bed, or surf the net… Sounds good, but I already did that yesterday, promising that I will exercise today. So, time to get reacquainted with my erg (rowing machine)… I have been avoiding even looking at it: no water, no trees, no sun sparkles over the water… rowing outside is the thing for me! Seems that I will have to get over this if I want to stay in a decent shape. Armed with this determination I got dressed in my summer (!) rowing outfit, raised all the blinds so I could see the (snow-covered) outdoors, and sat on the erg. I set a goal of 30 min and decided I will do it no matter how bad it feels to me. I loaded my favorite CD to get me going and had to turn up the volume to be able to hear it over the machine’s fan. “When is the last time I blasted music I love?” I thought. Using the erg always felt hard to me, the movement seems awkward and abrupt, never as fluid as when rowing, well, on water. However, at some point this morning, it got easier and I started feeling “the flow”, so even decided to go over my initial goal for another 10 min. I did a mental tally: staying active, burning calories – check! doing something related to rowing – check! finally blasting my favorite music – check! Getting my thinking time in?... check! It must have been, because after erg-ing for a while, the thought about what to do when having to compromise something you love for something more practical if the external conditions are against you, came to me.


Make the best of it! If I must adapt and make some concessions compared to the ideal, I must find a way in which the benefits could balance, maybe even outweigh, the inconvenience. Think of the current economic situation, many of us will have to do it. Maybe will have to change or lose jobs, move, try something we did not in a long time, or maybe never did. It is very possible that we will discover some new benefits and maybe learn something new. I was lucky to row for many years in Atlanta. Even if the temperature was below freezing, the water never froze, so as I became more confident going out all by self, I was able to row with no interruptions through the winter, if willing to be less comfortable, wearing many layers and using my frozen hands most of the time. But in my new place of residence, the mighty nature has different plans for me. So, I am already thinking “what if this arctic blast lasts?” Maybe I will go ice skating, I did not do that in a long time, or maybe I’ll check on that rumor that they rent cross-country skiing equipment in the park. No, I do not know how to do that, but maybe this snow is a divine kick for me to learn.