Do You Have a Boat?

By Jennie Hobbs

I was looking out my window a few months ago and seeing it rain and rain and rain some more. They had actual floods in some areas that week. I started thinking I might need a boat to get around. I don’t have a boat though, so I stayed put. However, it did remind me about a chapter in a book I recently read. The book is called Tuesday Morning Coaching – 8 Simple Truths by David Cottrell. It is a fabulous book and I think you would really enjoy reading it. I want to talk about just one of the simple truths from that book: “focusing inside your boat.”

Cottrell tells a story about Olympic athletes in water events remembering they can’t control the weather, the environment around them, or for that matter anything outside of their boats. They can only impact the things inside their boat. It is a wonderful concept that has you focusing on the things you can control. I fell in love with this idea and have been really working on this for myself. I tend to try and control things that I have no control over. Since reading the book I am directing my focus on where I spend my time and my attention. It really keeps me looking at what is my first and highest priority. One good question to ask yourself is: “Is this the best use of my attention and time at this moment?” You can stop yourself and look around you. There is always more than we can possibly get done so what you have to decide is where you get the biggest bang for your buck. Where can I have the most impact and what do I have control over?

I worked in the health care industry for years. On one of my many visits to one of our buildings, I worked with some of our Therapists in the Rehab department. As I watched them work I was overwhelmed by the number of our patients that needed their attention. Some of them were working with a therapist on their fine motor skills while others waited their turn to utilize a machine and still others were doing the exercises they were given. As a non-therapist it would be easy to get distracted and maybe even overwhelmed. It appeared instead that everyone in that gym was staying in their boats and assisting their patients.

I think it can be easy to worry about someone else and what they are doing or not doing. It can be easy to start complaining that we don’t have enough time. It can be easy to focus on the tools or resources we would like to have. Instead, what I would recommend is to stay in your boat. Do not worry about what other people are doing – you can’t control them. They are in their own boat. The clock doesn’t stop ticking and we will have 24 hours today and tomorrow and every day after. We have enough time, we just have to choose our priorities. We have to decide the best use of our time. We have some of the best working conditions in the world so instead of thinking about what we would love to have we should utilize all the resources we do have. These are examples of how we can stay in our boat. There are many others. It is your choice how you handle your day. So follow my advice, and stay in your boat!