Olympic Gold Medalist | Performance Coach | Author I write about what it means to perform with full engagement in the second half of life.
Thinking In Waves: The Space Between Want & Could
The Space Between Want & CouldEvery time I begin a downwind paddle on the surfski I have an idea of What I Want to happen… Steady Winds Organized sets of Waves Clean Links and The accumulation of LOTS of Free Energy. I also have an idea of What Could happen… The unpredictability and inconsistency of Winds, gusts, breaks, malfunction, and misdirection Which minimize Or eliminate, Any sense of flow-finding. Could = Preparing for the unexpected surprises... A LOT Happens between Want and Could —> aka The Margin. Somewhere in our long line of Life Waves, We were led to believe that Releasing the tight grip On what we Want Is a bad decision... As if embracing a little more Could Creates More distance and More obstruction Between ourselves and What we Want. Social pressures and Influencer noise highlight Playing the short game Fear of missing out Following other people’s goals Prompting us to Disregard The Margin Which attacks Endurance Patience and Course-correcting sensibilities. Going ALL IN on Want Frames Could as the enemy. And since the possibilities of Could Are not as appealing as those of Want, Nervous rides on Life Waves continue Without The Margin Unless... It is purposefully taken back. When The Margin becomes Our full field of play, Agility Adaptability Perspective Optionality Expand and engage, Which brings forward A better disposition For navigating Life Waves... When surprises happen. And they will happen. They always happen. The stronger The Margin, The more effective our response. With gratitude, Joe PS - An inspiration for today's essays came from this past weekend's DownWind paddle session on Catalunya's Costa Brava with Maria on the doubles surfski - a day with a lot of changing weather, winds, and wave directions. But surfing within The Margin produced an incredible wave day with lots of Free Energy. See us on this short Instagram Reel --> HERE. And... if paddling in this part of Catalunya looks appealing, my Coaching & Adventure Retreat Survey is still open --> HERE. Your feedback is so helpful and Moltes Gràcies to so many of you who have already completed the survey! See you on the Wave.🌊 – Olympic Gold Medalist | Performance Coach | Author Unlock Your Why, Achieve Impacting Wins, & Ride Spectacular Life Waves |
Joe Jacobi
Olympic Gold Medalist | Performance Coach | Author I write about what it means to perform with full engagement in the second half of life.
Pre-S: Today's essay is based on another beautiful question and suggested topic from a Thinking In Waves reader. The engagement, questions, and reflections from this community are absolutely amazing. Thank you so much! What To Do With Calm As we attempt to optimize Every task, routine, and process, In hopes of maximizing every opportunity, The absence of momentum Can be Unsettling... When the sea becomes flat and the waves are far away, Questions arise: What did I do wrong? Am I missing...
Beyond Hard Work All of the sermons, praise, and platitudes Can be overwhelming, overbearing, and never-ending. Yet, in the pursuit of growth and improvement, It is hard to imagine elevating performance Without Working Hard. Throughout most of my 55 years, I have swung from the “hard work” pendulum between Preaching And Compliance. To work hard Seemed so obvious That I rarely questioned The stability of the fixture That holds the Hard Work pendulum in place. However, Surfing waves on the...
The Next Right Move What is the next right move? Next year? Next month? Next week? Today? As nobody wants to get this wrong, The question has the power to: Raise doubt Increase resistance and Push back Because When we consider this question While rushing through life and Striving on autopilot, A gap is created between Where we are And Where we think we should be. And to our detriment, Overreaching for "Should" Does not reveal A great next right move. Adding more weight and drag to Our efforts...