Have you ever been water skiing? 

I was reminded of one of the chief lessons of water skiing the other day, and I wanted to share it with you.

Now, I was never very good at it, but I did really like it. And what I liked about it wasn’t so much how you could zoom around (though that was fun). It was the moment when it was just hard, and suddenly was NOT hard.

If you’ve ever been on water skis, you’ll know instantly what I am talking about. If you haven’t, here’s what you need to know.

You start in a crouch position. You need to have strong legs and arms to get up out of the water. As you are pushing against the water while the boat drags you forward, there is a real force to be reckoned with. It’s physics: you have to overcome the force that is shoving you backwards to be able to use it to take you forward.

And when you do, BOOM! Suddenly it’s Not Hard. You are up and you get a great ride and a jolt of joy like nowhere else. I’m up! I’m flying! I’m standing on the water! That’s when you realize that the strength that got you up was only partly in your legs and arms. It was also a matter of determination and choice.

If you don’t get up, it’s a lot less fun. You get dragged around and pummeled by the water. You can’t be passive and hope you stand up. You have to work to hit the inflection point – that point where you stand -- or you give up and drop the rope and just sink into the water.

Harness the Energy Around You!

But when you stick it out – when you start to see yourself standing up in the water even before you do – you experience this glorious GLORIOUS moment of going from hard to NOT hard, in an instant.

There is no middle range, no matter how expert you become at it. It’s physics. It’s just hard until it’s not.

Change of all kinds is like that. It’s hard, and you push through anyway. Then the physics shift – and it’s suddenly not hard anymore. You’re up. You are standing on water and you are having a ball.

Hard. Not Hard.

What’s hard in your life now?
There’s a difference between resisting the energy – that’s what happens when the boat drags you around and you’ve given up trying to stand – and pushing against a force in order to master and use it.

If it’s resistance – if you truly are meant to be doing something other than skiing, get out of the water and into the boat.

But if you are just in the Hard Phase – and you want to get past it faster, here’s what to do:

> Let it be okay that you are in the hard part of the journey. Don’t be mad at yourself or the circumstances. You chose to get in the water, and when the physics turn in your favor – and they WILL, it’s physics for goodness sakes – you will stand.

> SEE yourself standing, or whatever the equivalent of that is for you in this moment.

> Keep pushing, and know that you will reach the inflection point, where it goes from Hard to Not Hard.

> Enjoy the ride! Find joy in the freedom and take in the view from up there!

Happy Summer! Happy standing up out of the water!