Smooth Sailing

When flying over Lake Michigan last week, I saw a few dozen sailboats all tacking north-northwest a few miles from the Evanston shoreline. From above they hardly seemed to be moving, but the full sails and the lean of the mast told a different story. It was a picture perfect fall day for sailing with a breeze dancing across the lake’s surface but not creating any chop.

Smooth sailing demands a breeze. By analogy, what’s needed is a force outside oneself, often a force of opposition. The challenge is to chart ones course into the wind, or with it, so that you can meet your objectives. Often that demands tacking back and forth and not heading directly to your destination.

How are you charting your course in these times of the ever changing winds? Are you remembering to tell your crew that you are about to “come about”? It’s never fun getting knocked into the water by the boom…