Synchronicity shows up when we least expect it. This past weekend two things happened which have me reflecting on my writing and my life. And something I realized was that it’s time to live my truth.
First, I had the chance to chat with a friend and former athlete who is also a writer. He gave me some crucial feedback on my blog and we talked at length about some of my aspirations with writing.
He told me that while many of my posts are intriguing and passionate, he is often left wondering “what was the point of that?” He didn’t feel like they were actually answering a question of prompting him to take it further. It was hard to hear, but I knew he was right.
I took the weekend off from writing and posting to think about it and give myself some breathing room. I often feel like I’m posting into the void. And lately, my posts feel antagonistic, rather than helpful. And that’s not who I want to be.
The second was the largest rowing event in the world, The Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, MA. The HOCR draws athletes of all ages and experience levels from across the United States and countries all over the world for a long distance head race along the winding Charles River. I haven’t competed in the HOCR since 2011 but this past weekend several friends, former teammates, and athletes that I used to coach reached out to me while they were there.
On Friday one of my teammates from way back reached out to me to see if I might be able to hop into a boat for the race at the last second. Unfortunately I was nowhere near the Charles River at the time so could only offer my support via text. Then a friend of mine sent me a picture of the Filippi double from the Potomac Boat Club with “Margot Shumway” emblazoned on the bow. It’s such an honor to have a boat named after me, though I take issue with the very apparent scum line. 😉 Last, several members of the Ancient Mariners Rowing Team reached out to me to let me know they had won the Men’s 70+ eight and set a course record. I haven’t coached them in five years, but they still felt like I was part of their victory.
Being reached out to by my rowing friends this past weekend has made me realize that I miss the sport. I miss writing about it. I miss participating in it. And I really miss helping people get better. I can’t ignore that I often feel jealous of people who are still immersed in the rowing world. And I think I’ve been avoiding picking a focus for my blog because I’ve been trying to avoid making the focus rowing. Weird right?
Before my friend and I got off the phone he gave me a piece of advice that inspired the title of this post. He told me I’m not living my truth. He encouraged me to dig deeper into what I was feeling, and why I feel so compelled to share my writing. That I needed to find my why. And to answer some difficult questions like what problem am I trying to solve? What question does this answer? Why should anyone trust what I say?
These aren’t easy questions, but thinking about them all weekend has helped to clarify some of the confusion and angst I have been feeling for several months now. I want to make an impact. And in order to do that I have to pick a focus. I want my writing to solve problems, not create more, and I certainly don’t want to blatantly antagonize people. I need to be trustworthy. And the only way to do that is to live my truth.
So, what is my truth and how am I going to live it? Well, for starters I’ll be focusing on two of my passions moving forward – rowing and coaching. Second, I want to get back in touch the rowing world, which may mean narrowing the focus of who my writing is for. If you’ve ever read any Seth Godin then you understand the importance of your minimum viable audience or as he would say “those you seek to serve.” I want to help people in the rowing community. It’s still too broad but at least it’s not “everyone.”
I’m an athlete and a coach. I love the sport of rowing. It has had a profound impact on my life and who I am. And I want to leverage my experiences in the sport to help people. And so I want to focus on doing that moving forward.
If there’s a call to action for this post it would be to listen to the reminders to live your truth. Whether it’s a former teammate, or a friend, or an athlete you used to coach these moments of synchronicity are ones we can’t afford to ignore.
Sometimes we get away from our truth. Our lives are so full with work, family, busyness. It can be overwhelming and passions are usually the thing that fall by the wayside. I used to always tell myself that as long as I passed by a body of water and felt the itch to get out there in my single I would listen to it. I might not be ready to row again, but I feel that itch. To coach. To give back. The itch to do something with everything I was fortunate enough to learn from rowing. It’s time to live my truth.
I’m not sure exactly what this means for this blog but change is good. Perhaps I’ll start something new and keep this blog for all my many weird and wondering thoughts. Either way I hope you’ll keep reading and that you’ll take steps to live your truth as well.
Hugs.
