Don’t get in your head

Eel Bay looking towards the Canadian shore of the St. Laurence River

Lessons for life and entrepreneurship from swim camp (part 3 of 4)

When swimming long distances in open water, every time you look towards the far shore, it never gets closer. For the swimmers at swim camp in early August, this was frustrating to the point of feeling defeating. The goal was a tiny A-frame building and small dock that they couldn’t even see clearly.

They would swim and swim, then swim some more.  When they did a quick check to see where they were, that far side of Eel Bay and the small dock seemed just as far away as when they started. After this happened time after time, they just wanted to quit. 

Mastering tips and tricks to combat this frustration is a key to success, not only for open water swimmers, but for anyone working towards a big goal. Swimmers will often count strokes or break a swim into 30 minute segments. They will occasionally take a peek behind them and realize just how far they have come. Slowly, as the shore comes into better focus, they will finally be able to see the detail of their goal.

For everyone who is chasing goals that never seem to be getting closer, we can apply these same principles. We can use metrics that we can directly control related to the goal to “count our strokes” instead of looking at how far away the end goal is. This might be marketing touchpoints for entrepreneurs or calories eaten for those losing weight instead of revenue generated or a number on the scale.

For all of us, don’t forget to take a peek at how far you have come and how much you have accomplished.  Instead of a “to-do” list, create a “ta-da!” list of all the things you have done in the last week that have helped you move toward your goal. The shore may still seem far away, but you will be proud of how far you have come on your journey.

What is one way you can measure your progress when the end goal seems fuzzy and far away?