How To Practice For Hard Things
On a chilly January evening, I watch my 18 year-old daughter train at the 1992 Olympic whitewater canoe slalom venue in La Seu d’Urgell. She is at home on a short break away from her residence at a Spanish Olympic Training Center in the north of Spain.
But on this evening, she is not training on whitewater.
As her carbon-fiber kayak glides effortlessly across the calm water a few hundred meters above the river rapids, a thought comes to mind…
Conventional wisdom would suggest that to be among the very best in the world at navigating powerful and ever-changing river currents for faster times and Olympic medals requires continuous practice on powerful and ever-changing river currents.
In other words, just practice the game-like conditions.
The counterintuitive truth is that Olympic medals in whitewater canoe slalom are never won without a great deal of focused training on flat and calm water.
Why?
To thrive in a world of uncertainty and change requires habits, systems, and muscle memory that facilitate the flow of correct techniques performed at exactly the correct moments.
More uncertainty and change do not build these attributes. Consistency does.
Consistency grows in calm and controlled environments where we can slow down, experiment, analyze, and adapt while reducing external circumstances beyond our control.
Over time, calm water helps us to perfect a higher quality set of skills that better prepare us to… respond to uncertainty and change.
At the source of navigating difficult river currents is the same question at the source of navigating hard moments in business and life…
What is your “calm water” practice?
With gratitude,
-Joe
Perform your best at what matters most without compromising your life. Let’s design your simple and clear plan to get you and your team outside of the day-to-day rush of life and bring focus to what truly matters most.
