Monday, August 29, 2016

Staying in Sync . . . How are you rowing?


That's me.

Light blue shirt, fifth from the back . . . Or fifth from the front. Either way, I'm smack dab in the middle.

For months I had rowed on an erg at Greenville Indoor Rowing, but I had never been on the water.

It's one thing to sit on your own rowing machine going at your own pace, but it's another thing entirely to sit with 7 others trying to row and stay in sync. All I had to do was hold on to my one oar and row with it--that is without it dragging in the water, turning it upside down, going in the water when it should be out of the water, or splashing everyone around me.

I knew all about the technique of rowing including the catch, the drive and the finish. I understood the 11:00 and 1:00 positions, stroke rates, and breathing. I just wasn't used to the one long oar that I was responsible for getting in and out of the water instead of the handle on my rowing machine.

It took us awhile, but we four rowing newbies caught on to what the four Clemson University Rowing club members were doing and we finally got that 8-man scull going in the right direction.

And it was amazing.

What speed we were able to reach when we all worked together.

I think of this experience when I'm working with others, be it my family, co-workers, friends, or church family. When we are in sync, we can not only move in right direction, but we can move with speed and efficiency -- but I have to do my part and do it correctly. I can't do their part and be efficient any more than I could take another rower's oar and row with it at the same time.

It just doesn't work.

So when working with others or with my family, I concentrations on my part, rowing my "oar."  And when we all do the same, staying in sync . . . wow, it's amazing!

Next time you are trying to accomplish a goal with your family or a group, remember, just concentrate on your own oar.


It's no fun getting splashed in the face with a gallon of water!



Pictures, not including rowers, are courtesy of www.pixaby.com