Chapter 4
The Philosophy of Row the Boat
P.J. Fleck
“Row the Boat” is a never-give-up mantra and an approach to life and work that anyone can adopt and implement. It's a standard that says your life will not be defined by circumstances or events. When adversity hits, and I guarantee it will, you will not allow a situation or a person to discourage you or affect your way of life. Rather, with enthusiasm, inspiration, and optimism, you will create your way of life. Row the Boat is about being proactive, not reactive or perfect. Regardless of what happens, you have already decided that you are going to keep moving forward in a positive way.
This perspective separates the elite from the average in sports and in life. The way you handle one thing is the way you handle everything, and you must handle it at an elite level. If you want to be elite, you have to stay in the now and keep moving forward. The now matters. You can't let your situations define you. With attitude and effort, you must define your situation.
Row the Boat is also a leadership approach that inspires and empowers the people in your boat to row with the same power, tempo, direction, and speed toward the vision you have for your team and organization. In tough times, row. In successful times, row. In times of uncertainty, row. In times of struggle, row. When the waves of life are stormy and dangerous and they rock your boat to the core, row. On days when the seas are calm and glisten with sunshine, row. In the end, why we row, how we row, and the way we row through all of it will dictate our path and determine how far we go.
Future
Rowing is very different from paddling. When rowing a boat, your back is to the bow (the front of the boat), which represents the future. This means that as you are rowing, you can't see what's ahead of you in that very moment. None of us have any idea what the future holds for us. We don't know what tomorrow or even the next moment brings. Life can change in a moment. The uncertainty is what defines life!
Present
When you row the boat, you row in the present moment with your own oar, which is the only thing you can control right now! Making choices and decisions of how you handle and think about the now is a choice of one person: you. You are either rowing or you are not. You either quit in the now or you don't. There is no in between. Don't let the fear of the future or the pain from the past stop you from rowing toward your dreams.
Past
When rowing, you are facing the stern (the back of the boat), which symbolizes the past. Your eyes see where you have already been. With every stroke, you see the horizon and what just happened. The only thing we should do with the past is learn from it. With every stroke, we grow. It's not easy to let the past go, but doing so allows us to focus our energy on the present. After all, the next stroke is what needs our energy and attention.
This approach is life-changing. Learn from and embrace your past to create your future. Row in the present and be optimistic and hopeful. Know that the next stroke of the oar is what's needed to overcome and conquer your challenges and create your future. Don't let the sea dictate where you go. You decide, and you keep rowing. Learn from your past, row in the present, and prepare for whatever comes your way.
The most important thing is to keep on rowing.