Plan by the Tide…

As we passed in the kitchen, Amy and I looked at each other through our tired eyes.  It was December 31… about 9:30pm.  That morning and throughout the day we had hyped our kids into a New Year’s Eve frenzy by talking about staying up together and watching the ball drop at midnight.  I told Amy about one of my clients using the strategy of turning clocks ahead to trick her children into thinking it was midnight when it was really 9 or 10pm.  We were so tired and 9:30 felt like midnight so …close enough.  We called the kids in, poured grape flavored water into our glasses, toasted the New Year, and headed to bed….It was a perfect New Year’s Eve.  I was so tired I didn’t even have the energy to think about a New Year’s resolution(something I don’t put much stock into anyway).  It may sound funny coming from a Strength Coach and owner of a personal training studio, but it’s true.  I have never bought into the New Year resolution marketing, programming, or sign-up surge tactics.  I am blessed that I haven’t had to do it.  Don’t get me wrong, I think it is great to set exercise goals, and for whatever reason, January 1st seems to be the time to do it.  Think about it though…it’s weird.  It’s strange that people get a little spark to start living healthy…to spend money on a gym membership, trainer, and/or equipment, knowing…knowing…it’s going to last until about January 16th.  That’s the truth.  I believe a better way to look at the New Year is to see it as a fresh start…a new chance…a time to refocus…a time to be honest with yourself.  That’s all I am going to say about the New Year motivation/perspective issue because it is a different topic really.  Let’s skip all that and just say you have a true New Year’s resolution.  I don’t know what it is…exercise, job, parenting, eating…whatever….Let’s just assume you’ve done an honest, deep, true reflection of yourself and you have set thoughtful and healthy goals.  Congratulations…you’ve made it through the easiest part of your new year.  Now what?  How will you EVER do what you said you would do?  I’ll tell you.  This is the important thing to remember…for the rest of the year…and for the rest of your life… : “Tide and time wait for no man.”….. Let me explain.

A couple of summers ago, Amy, her sister, her sister’s husband, me, and another couple decided to kayak out of the salt marshes(ACE Basin surrounding Edisto Island) across the mouth of the Edisto River, and back to the island.  Amy’s sister’s husband, Tim, and the husband in the other couple, Mike, both have great experience in the outdoors, navigation, and these types of excursions.  We would put in just in time to catch the tide going out which would make our trip easier and assure we were going the right way.  For those of you who don’t know, salt marshes are filled with winding paths and can be very confusing when you are sitting low in a boat.  On top of that, the tide can change so quickly making it easy to become disoriented and/or without water at all.  We started the trip and made our way through the beautiful marsh and even stopped for a nice picnic on a small sandy beach that looked like it hadn’t yet been discovered.  With clouds rolling in, we decided to continue through the maze of waterways.  There were many split offs and paths from which to choose, but we had our map…and Tim and Mike.  Paddling away, we saw a couple of porpoises and began to follow them.  Amy and I were taking pictures and paddling towards them as they seemed to be having fun with each other and inviting us to join them.  All of the sudden Mike stopped paddling, sat silently, and looked all around.  He pulled out the map and said “Something isn’t right.”  We just looked at him.  He said “Look at the direction my kayak is floating.”  We pulled our paddles out of the water and floated….backwards.  We had been paddling…against the tide.  We were caught up in the beauty of the trees, moss, and playfulness of the wildlife.  We didn’t even notice we had missed a turn and were going the wrong way.  We made the correction and continued our amazing trip.

And so….that’s exactly what can happen to us in life.  We plan by the tide….we set our goals.  The answer to why we don’t keep our resolutions 99% of the time…we don’t meet our goals…is we become distracted…we miss a turn…The trip is planned by the tide but so often we don’t realize… at some point…somewhere along the line…we began paddling against the tide.  It happens…to ALL of us.  It will ALWAYS happen.  The key is to not forget where we are supposed to be going.  We were lucky to have Mike and Tim with us.  Without them we would have surely kept paddling in the wrong direction until we were literally sitting in mud.  So…what can you take from my story?  1. We need to listen to the people we are blessed to have in our lives.  They may certainly make our trip easier and more enjoyable one day.  They may keep us safe on another day.  They may one day turn us around and save us A LOT of time…and pain.  2. What do you do if you’re on your own and find yourself moving away from your goals?…What do you do when you find yourself paddling against the tide?  I’ll tell you what you DON’T do…you don’t throw away your map.  You don’t lose hope…you don’t self-sabotage…you DO NOT forget where you are going.  3. Here is another something you don’t do…When you are out in the marsh…far far away from anyone…and you find yourself lost or heading in the wrong direction, you DO NOT stop paddling!  And you NEVER NEVER EVER just throw away your paddles…you wouldn’t do it out there….so don’t do it ANYWHERE…You don’t quit.  You hear it from me in almost every blog post…NEVER GIVE UP!  If you have set a goal…If you want to be someone…something…If you want to accomplish something…You have to KEEP paddling no matter what!  Even if your mind is telling you it’s too late and your butt is sitting in mud…get up, drag your boat to water, get back in and paddle your heart out!  4. Don’t forget to stop and look at the beautiful things everywhere around you…  5. Remember : It isn’t easy…”Tide and time wait for no man.”…It’s true…Time is precious…we only have so much of it…The tide will come and go regardless of where we are…both have existed before we were born…and will continue to exist after we’re gone.  Use them wisely.  Look at your map…plan by the tide…and finish a trip…for once complete the journey you know in your heart you’re supposed to master… 🙂

“Listen to the tides slowly turning, wash all of your heartaches away.  We are part of the fire that is burning, from the ashes we can build another day.”

 

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3 thoughts on “Plan by the Tide…

  1. Anthony- I LOVE this! Thank you for the reminder. I try to tell the boys to remember what the main goal is in everything they do. When they both started driving, it became very imperative: I constantly reminded them that the goal is to ARRIVE ALIVE, so even if they have to detour and be late, just keep that goal in mind! Great blog and worth the wait.

  2. Donna Stamey says:

    Awesome!!!! Happy New Year!!! I really enjoy your blogs! Give Amy a hug!

    Donna Stamey

  3. Pat says:

    Great stuff Anthony ! You have a grasp of life s priority s many lack ! thanks , Pat

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