Stop Treading Water. Kick and Paddle.

I’m a big fan of Ellen. A few times a week, at 3 pm, I escape work for an hour and indulge in her fun-loving show. I believe that laughter is the medicine for the soul. Watching that show makes me laugh at least once. The other day she had a guest named Lewis Howes. He’s one of those self-help kind of guys who wrote a book called The School of Greatness. One metaphor he writes about is the idea that you should kick and paddle instead treading water. Here’s a few suggestions on how you can apply this to your life.


1.     Stop Standing Still

This whole concept of treading water is the same as standing still. Do we really ever get things accomplished when we just let life pass us by? Nope. You have to keep moving forward. If there’s anything I have learned through developing my practice, it is that you keep finding new ways to improve. Some are not going to work out and that’s okay. Something will eventually catch.


2. Focus Your Energy on Things that Matter

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve spent hours, if not days, working on something that, in the long run, doesn’t matter. Stop focusing on things that don’t matter. In my opinion, it is a waste of time. My mom said the other day, “My cousin spent 6 months talking on a radio show to boost his business. He got no new business out of it. After 6 months, he called it quits. He said, ‘Mary, why would I waste my time on something that doesn’t help my business?’”


3. Kick and Paddle with All Your Might

It’s about the hustle. If you don’t try, how will you know if it will work? If you don’t put in the effort, how will you know what the benefits will be? If you don’t push yourself, will your life move forward? Stop sticking to the same routine. Kick. Paddle. It’s the hustle.


My Take Away….

If you want to move forward, you have to put effort into it. As Lewis Howes says, “Stop treading water. Kick and Paddle.” Put energy into things. If, after some time it doesn’t work, stop. Don’t waste your time on things that don’t matter.