Appreciate The 2nd Choice
Maybe it was learning to throw a ball. Or mix colors on a canvas. Strike a chord on the piano. Write code for a basic program.
I recall the daily training sessions on the Potomac River of my early teen years. More specifically, I remember the small adjustments of hand and body positions on the paddle and in the boat, respectively, that allowed me to discover the concept of turning my race canoe without losing speed. The technique is not easy. But I made just enough gains to keep me hooked on the sport.
The start of an improvement curve grabs your attention. There is so much to learn. You’re excited, and you can hardly wait for the next opportunity to practice. You are drawn to the feeling of growth, skill development, and boundary expansion.
The change in confidence is enough to keep you coming back for more.
But, learning curves don’t stay steep forever. They can’t. They won’t.
Eventually the curve will flatten out. The gap between jumps goes from crack to chasm. The sense of learning seems to slow down.
This leaves you with two choices:
1) Jump off of the existing curve and find a new curve … and begin again. You can choose a new activity and learn something different. This option widens your perspective, develops a broader range of skills, and opens up paths in a fresh direction.
2) Learn to find joy in small increments of improvement. Here, you combat the feelings of stuck, staleness, and boredom with the belief that a tiny breakthrough waits just ahead.
As the Olympic canoe-kayak events get underway this week, the athletes from every country approach the start line by way of the second choice. Two kayakers in particular are women who represent Team USA: Ashley Nee in whitewater slalom and Maggie Hogan in flatwater sprint.
After missing out on Olympic Teams in 2008 and 2012, their persistence to find joy in the smallest of breakthroughs paid off for both of these women.
There’s no right or wrong choice here. Just an opportunity to appreciate the beauty of the second choice.
Thank you for the reminder, Ashley and Maggie.
As America’s first ever Olympic Gold Medalist in Whitewater Canoe Slalom, Joe promotes strategies and shares stories for living and performing at your best, doing the work that matters and engaging with purpose. His platforms include performance coaching and consulting, professional speaking, broadcasting and his weekly newsletter, “Sunday Morning Joe.”
