Effort isn't the point
About 30 years ago, I was on a family vacation in Island Park, Idaho. In an attempt to find an activity that could possibly entertain his 5 hyper-active daughters (ages 4-18) and a teenage boyfriend, my dad signed us up to “float” down the snake river. What he did not realize is that this particular stretch of the river, is very slow moving.
After 3 hours of being crammed together on a raft, baking in the hot sun, what had started as a fun adventure now seemed like a slow death by boredom. The only one who seemed to be fine, was my little sister, who was about 4. She had her leg hanging over the side of the raft, slowly swirling the water around.
The fact we made it 3 hours was impressive. Knowing there was at least another hour to go before the end, felt unthinkable. We began bickering. The teenage boy hopped out and started dragging the raft through the knee-high water in a desperate attempt to move us faster. Then, my little sister pulled her leg out of the water, whipped her head around and scowled at all of us while she shouted, “I’ve been going like this and like this and like this and nobody even cares!!”
Dumbfounded, we stared at her. Until we realized that she thought she had been rowing for over an hour. She was convinced the effort from her little leg swirling around in the water was moving us along. It was not.
I have been like my little sister time and again. Once I clocked overtime hours for 2 weeks because I wanted the user guide for a project to be perfectly color coded. It took a whole lot of effort, and I thought it would be helpful to other people… but nobody cared. I thought the effort would make me a hero, but all it made me was tired and resentful. I’ve had to learn more than once that my effort, or my “all,” does not equate to my best – even if I’m convinced that it feels like it.
Because you see, every year after that disastrous first one, my dad brought a motor for our raft. The same trip that had taken more than 4 hours, took only 30 minutes when a different way of doing the task was introduced. Turns out, “floating the snake river” is a lovely activity when you have a motor. (The pic for this post is from when we finally figured this out).
That’s what Even-Achieving is. It’s using more than one way of achieving things. It’s finding the right method for the moment (not just your favorite method) and that’s what brings results that really are your best.
When you're ready, here's how I can help:
Find your default Achiever Mode — a free 2-minute quiz that shows you which mode you naturally default to under pressure, and what one shift moves you toward your best.
Work through it 1:1 — I’ve chosen to open more coaching slots on my fall roster. If you want to see if it’s a good fit for you, I have 4 free coaching spots open between now and the end of August. You can nab a time to try it yourself here
Bring Even-Achieving to your event or your team — keynotes, workshops, and facilitation.
Fall is a great time for gathering and learning. If you know of an event that needs a speaker, I’d love to be their gal. A quick email intro does wonders for me.
As always, if someone you know would benefit from this work, I'd love a warm introduction. Thanks for reading with me today. Let’s help folks reach for success without all the stress through Even-Achieving.
With “all” my best,
Erika
