Will it Make the Boat Go Faster? | FRIDAY FIELD NOTES
Jan 31, 2025
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Discover how the mantra 'Will it make the boat go faster?' can transform your decision-making process. Inspired by a rowing team's journey, the discussion emphasizes aligning daily actions with your personal goals for meaningful progress. Learn the importance of setting clear objectives and regularly evaluating your achievements. This approach encourages adaptability and resilience, helping you eliminate distractions and stay focused on what truly matters in your career, relationships, and health.
Adopting the mantra 'Will it make the boat go faster?' helps individuals assess their daily actions against personal goals for effective decision-making.
Flexibility in adapting to unproductive patterns is essential, as persistence without reflection may hinder personal growth and new opportunities.
Deep dives
The Power of Pivoting
Individuals often feel locked into their decisions, mistakenly believing they cannot change their course of action. However, the capacity to pivot and adapt is crucial when faced with unproductive patterns, and recognizing when to let go of ineffective commitments is essential. Persistence is valuable, but remaining in situations that no longer serve your goals can be detrimental. Embracing the mindset of flexibility allows for personal growth and the exploration of new opportunities.
Will It Make the Boat Go Faster?
The mantra 'Will it make the boat go faster?' serves as a guiding principle for assessing actions and priorities in life. Originating from the story of an underachieving rowing team that transformed their performance by questioning whether their activities contributed to their goal, this concept encourages individuals to evaluate their daily choices against their personal objectives. By applying this principle, one can create clearer and more effective strategies in various aspects of life, including relationships, career, and health. It emphasizes the importance of aligning actions with goals to streamline efforts and achieve success.
Setting Goals and Measuring Success
Establishing clear goals and regularly evaluating progress is fundamental for personal development. Before adopting the mantra of 'Will it make the boat go faster?', it’s vital to create a vision of what one wants to achieve over different time frames. This process ensures that actions are measured against specific outcomes, allowing for objective assessments of success or failure. Furthermore, implementing after-action reviews fosters accountability, prompting reflection on what works and providing data to guide future decisions, ultimately promoting continuous improvement.
In this episode of Friday Field Notes, Ryan Michler explores the powerful concept of “Will it Make the Boat Go Faster?”, a mantra for making decisions that drive real progress. Inspired by Olympic rower Ben Hunt-Davis, Ryan shares how this mindset can be applied to career growth, relationships, health, and personal goals. He discusses the importance of setting clear objectives, testing strategies, and adjusting when necessary.
SHOW HIGHLIGHTS
00:00 - Introduction to the concept 01:42 - The Olympic rowing story 03:12 - Applying the mantra to life 07:43 - Decision-making and pivoting 09:45 - The importance of self-review 12:00 - Measuring progress objectively 14:32 - Eliminating distractions and staying focused 16:47 - Upcoming event: The Men's Forge