Drink up to improve your performance!

“Water, water, everywhere, Nor any drop to drink.” So says the speaker in Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner remarking about a sailor on a becalmed ship surrounded by salt water that he cannot drink.

By extension, these lines are used to describe a situation in which someone is in the midst of plenty but cannot partake of it.  Let’s push the metaphor a bit more and see what it reveals about improving performance. For this, let’s change cannot drink to will not drink.

In the Midst of Plenty

In 5 minutes, I can be at the Pacific Ocean and walk its shores. Yet … I don’t very often. Even though every time I do I say, “This is amazing! So re-charging, so beautiful … I should do this every day.” Still, I don’t.

People drive hours to enjoy places a stone’s throw from me: The Forest of Nisene Marks, Cabrillo’s farmer’s market (one of the state’s best), Elkhorn Slough, and Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary. This doesn’t begin to scratch the surface.

I’m in the midst of plenty of “plenty” from which I don’t drink. What stops me from partaking? 2 things: My over-achiever habits and Newton’s 1^st Law of Motion. Newton’s law states that a body at rest will remain at rest unless an outside force acts on it …

An Outside Force

I’m fortunate that I have friends and colleagues who know my habits, remember my intention for this year (Releasing) and invite me to act on it.    Their invitations come with 2 key elements: (1) a conversation that paints a picture of what’s in it for me – physical activity, fun and learning – three things that matter to me, (2) support structure (details I need to make an informed choice, e.g., date, time, cost, benefit).

The invitations plus trust in the relationship are the outside force that pulls me out of my automatic, unconscious mindset (“It’s Tuesday – a week/work day — I can’t take off during the week! I have to be available 24/7! What will people think if I don’t answer their email immediately??”). The invitation wakes me so I can choose to break the inertia or not.

The result: This summer I took my first water color class, tried SUP (stand up paddling) in the ocean, and enrolled in a professional development class on strategic planning.

70% of Development

Korn Ferry, a global talent management firm, found that 70% of development happens on the job. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that, on average, employed Americans between the ages of 25-54 with children spend approximately 8.6 hours per day working and related activities. (Seems low, doesn’t it?)

Connecting these two data points with my assertion that we are influenced by our environments (e.g., work culture), I have this question: What is being developed?

At work, are you developing your capacity to think strategically? Lead a team? Solve intractable problems? Or are you developing more of an attachment to inertia because there’s no outside force calling you to develop your potential and be your best?

What “plenty” are you in the midst of at work that you aren’t partaking of? Getting to know an employee who doesn’t report to you? Learning to be a mentor? Offering to job share? Modeling the espoused value of personal health and living an integrated life?

What “plenty” are you in the midst of in your life that you aren’t partaking of?   Having friends over for the dinner you’ve been promising? Listening to some of the 300 CDs in your jukebox intentionally, not as background sound? Taking a welding or yoga class?

The Partaking and the Performance Takeaways

By partaking in the both the leisure and professional development classes (yes, both are developmental !) , I dealt with my beginner’s mind (not easy), felt the self-imposed angst of wanting to master something right now (had to let go), and appreciated (again) what I ask my clients to do every day — change themselves first.

On our first day, our watercolor instructor gave us    a color Xerox of Paul Cezanne’s L’Estatque (below) and said  “We’re going to   paint this.” It didn’t seem like a beginner’s task. What she had to teach us and what we had to do to accomplish the task really accelerated our learning.	Performance takeaway: Take a “big leap”, believe that your commitment to a   desired outcome is more important than understanding  where are all the footholds are. Plus, create a structure of support as you leave what’s familiar.
	Camille Smith (c)2014, after Paul Cezanne, L’Estatque

In the Stand Up Paddling class (also known by me as SUYSUP: Swim Until You Stand Up Paddling), I wished I had a stronger      core, especially when I had to pull myself onto the board after   falling a couple of times. When I wasn’t successful standing up, kneeling    or sitting was my mode. I was still out in the ocean, watching dolphins and otters, and strengthening my core.

Performance takeaway: Baby steps work. Keep paddling and moving forward.  (yeah, this isn’t me)

In the Strategic Planning class, we take practice exams to benchmark our knowledge. So far, my  results indicate “more studying is required”. Not knowing doesn’t mean I’m stupid or unintelligent,   it means I don’t know the material yet.

Performance takeaway: It’s a learning curve, not a flat line. Be kind to yourself on the curve and stick it out.

With all the “plenty” around us that can contribute to our health, well-being and performance, none of us has to be thirsty. Drink up!