Good morning, World!  It’s Friday!

I have  a long term friend who has, over the years, imparted his wisdom.  One of the recent conversations we had included content around the title of this post.  I’ve not personally tried to row a boat in the ocean.  I’ve tried paddle boarding and surfing (and even had a scare with rip tide while swimming in Hawaii a few years ago but that’s an entirely different post).

The moral of the post title is that there are times when rowing is beneficial and there are times when it is completely futile.  If the tide is coming in and you want to go out or the tide is going out and you want to come to shore, you are fighting gravity, and it typically wins.

We are talking about the discretionary efforts that, when timed appropriately, will advance the cause and move things forward, whether rowing a boat or pursuing an interest or solving a problem. However, just like a boat in the ocean, sometimes it is hard to get your bearings and you feel like you are drifting aimlessly so no matter where you row to, you might be advancing or hurting the overall goal or effort.  Sometimes, it’s better to put the oars down and … wait.

Depending on how you function and what motivates you, doing nothing may be easy or it may be nearly impossible.  No human I know wants to chase their tail.  At times, I may take a longer route form point A to point B in a larger metro even if the time is the same or even a little longer to avoid the traffic and avoid having to sit quietly and patiently wait.  It feels better to be moving uninhibited, even if it burns more resources.  The point with rowing a boat in the ocean is that you get tired quickly if you choose to ignore the obvious forces of the Earth screaming at you to stop rowing.

*Be situationally aware.
*Seek clarity about what you want to accomplish.
*Save your energy for the highest priorities and time the expenditure of such energy well, recognizing that it won’t always be when you want it to be.

Have a blessed weekend.