The Fallacy of Hard Work
As we head into summer, many of us are feeling the heat.
Somehow, no matter what part of the country you call home or where you spend your workdays, there's pressure to culminate, graduate, accelerate, innovate, or even terminate.
…and with all that pressure comes a lot of messaging about the importance of hard work and hard choices, strength and determination.
But if these hard-charging, high-performance buzzwords have begun to fall a little flat for you, you're not alone.
This summer, join me as I explore the other side of performance.
The side that knows your success also depends on playful technique, thoughtful choices, stability, and patience, especially when you need move through some big stuff and keep your cool!
I (re)learned this important lesson last month, when I embarked on a 220 mile rafting trip down the Colorado river…
Into the canyon
Last month, my husband and I embarked on the trip of a lifetime. We dropped into the Grand Canyon to raft 220 miles of the Colorado River.
For 14 days, we loaded, floated, braced, paddled, splashed, and crashed through more than 80 whitewater rapids under the tutelage of five remarkable guides and their two assistants - most of whom were as strong in body as they were in character.
Some of the male guides told tales of the earliest river runners and muscled their way through rapids with a strength of skill that was easy to admire.
It wasn’t until day five of our trip that I hopped into Sara’s raft and discovered that there was a whole other way to run that wild river.
Another approach: Thoughtful, steady, patient, elegant
Sara, was a slender, soft-spoken 30-something woman who carried herself like a ballet dancer and rowed like one too: thoughtfully, steadily, patiently, and elegantly.
When the wind fought her every move, she adjusted her technique.
When the hydraulics were big, Sara got quiet and observant.
When our raft was took hits, Sara swayed and balanced.
And when we emerged from some of the most consequential rapids in all of North America, shocked and soaked, she laughed with childlike amusement.
Sara’s cool, feminine energy and relaxed mastery reminded me just how legitimate that kind of approach can be…even in the NFL of raft guiding!
Of course, she gave it her all for 14 straight days, but she also made a risky and remarkable journey seem effortless!
And I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of colleague, manager, or leader is one I’d be excited to work for.
So if you’ve been struggling with other people’s narrow definitions of performance, know that you are not alone.
I see you.
You CAN move through big things and keep your cool at work.
You CAN turnover old definitions and enjoy the ride.
You CAN stop spinning and show others the way.
That’s the other side of performance and I can help you get there.
