Rowers are often among the most efficient, driven and resilient individuals in both their personal and professional circles. As Peter A Derow says, a huge reason behind this is that there are many lessons one can learn from rowing that are quite helpful for both family life and business. A rower has to focus their gaze forward, be present in the moment, and stay in sync with other people. Rowing helps people to gain a sense of stillness and focus, and do things with purpose, which invariably helps them to build a meaningful life.
Peter A Derow sheds light on a few life lessons that can be learnt through rowing
Rowing provides an incredible sense of community and camaraderie, and helps people to understand the true meaning of teamwork. Rowers are acutely aware of the importance of team cohesion. Rowing crews continues to drive itself forward to the next milestone, regardless of the challenges involved. Even when the glory days of rowing come to an end, one’s rowing crew often stays with them, and provides support in other aspects of life, including academics and careers. The foundational appreciation for teamwork laid down by rowing remains at the forefront of one’s minds even beyond the boat.
Rowing is an endurance sport that requires consistent effort, training, and a degree of mental fortitude. No matter whether it is early morning practices, battling rough waters, or striving to improve technique, rowers need to develop a growth mindset. This involves the belief that abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. There is an age-old connection between sportspeople and resilience, and rowing is widely considered to be a very physically demanding sport. In addition to requiring extreme endurance and strength, rowers also need the ability to push themselves beyond their limits. This sense of discipline and resilience has a major impact on the cognitive abilities of the brain, and provides people with emotional awareness to forge strong bonds of understanding with people around them. Rowing is often associated with “structured fun” that comes with training, competing, and achieving the next goal. This activity provides people with a level of personal and professional strength that that increases the odds of committing to something in the long term, no matter whether it means to prepare a major presentation for work or deciding to start a family. The robust mindset constructed in the rowing club can often help people to remove some of the initial mental barriers.
As Peter A Derow mentions, rowers are not only responsible for their own performance but also for the overall function of the team. So, if a single rower is late, skips practice or does not give full effort, the entire crew would be negatively impacted. The activity, therefore, is a great way to instil a sense of accountability among young people. It also strengthens decision-making skills as rowers learn to prioritize commitments, manage time in an efficient manner, and make choices that benefit both themselves and their team.
Broadly speaking, being in the boat is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the experiences and self-development that come with rowing. There are many skills one can develop and hone through rowing, that benefit them in life beyond the boat.
