Post by Andy on Mar 30, 2006 0:34:46 GMT
A few years back, I was offered a place on a luxurious business trip to South Africa. One of the things that caught my eye on the itinerary was 'White Water Rafting'.
I pictured it as being a big old raft of logs, propelled by natives, with a large beer cooler in the middle, where we'd sit back and take in the scenery.
I could'nt have been more wrong!
The name 'White River' should have been a clue, but I was a little shocked to find we were expected to shoot rapids in two-man rubber canoes for 12 hours, from dawn till dusk.
I ended up in the drink countless times, half drowned and miserable, but it wasn't till the last hour or so that I realised where I was going wrong.
It's a two man effort you see. The guy at the back steers and doesn't paddle, the guy at the front doesn't steer but must paddle. If the boat gets turned around, then you have to reverse roles.
If you don't propell yourself faster than the water, then the boat will do what the water does, and no amount of steering will ever get you where you want to be. If you move faster than the water, then the steering becomes effective.
The message I got from this was; if I want to get anywhere, I can't expect others to steer me, as I have to have some forward momentum in the first place.
If I want to steer others, then they need to have overcome their own inertia.
Thoughts?
I pictured it as being a big old raft of logs, propelled by natives, with a large beer cooler in the middle, where we'd sit back and take in the scenery.
I could'nt have been more wrong!
The name 'White River' should have been a clue, but I was a little shocked to find we were expected to shoot rapids in two-man rubber canoes for 12 hours, from dawn till dusk.
I ended up in the drink countless times, half drowned and miserable, but it wasn't till the last hour or so that I realised where I was going wrong.
It's a two man effort you see. The guy at the back steers and doesn't paddle, the guy at the front doesn't steer but must paddle. If the boat gets turned around, then you have to reverse roles.
If you don't propell yourself faster than the water, then the boat will do what the water does, and no amount of steering will ever get you where you want to be. If you move faster than the water, then the steering becomes effective.
The message I got from this was; if I want to get anywhere, I can't expect others to steer me, as I have to have some forward momentum in the first place.
If I want to steer others, then they need to have overcome their own inertia.
Thoughts?