A couple of weeks ago, we took an REI kayak tour in Minneapolis Chain of Lakes. I had never Kayaked before and they had tandem Kayaks and only one single Kayak. We were 3 couples and our son….the guide told us that most couples don’t talk to each other after the tandem kayak experience. Well I figured I would be less annoying kayaking with my Son as it was my first time kayaking.
I told my Son I would follow his lead, he then chose to sit in the back. Well we circled in the middle of the lake for quite some time. I couldn’t see what Jayden was doing but I kept telling him that he needed to be in sync with me. He kept telling me that I was not paddling correctly…..let’s just say it took quite a while for us to catch up to our group. I throughly enjoyed the experience but Jayden and I probably will never share a tandem anything ever again.
Incidentally the very next day, I went on my very first motorcycle ride as a passenger with my husband. He is an experienced motorcycle rider and has been wanting me to share is love of the sport. I had to learn to lean in as he did on turns and learn the “wave”. This time, I think I did a decent job of following the instructions and actually had a really good time. The fall colors were so vibrant that day and experiencing them on the bike was exhilarating.
Lessons I learnt:
- Even though you lead, you have to keep adjusting your approach so the people you are leading will follow you
- Sometimes you can try and try to overcome your personal styles and it still doesn’t work, learn how to make it an asset
- Try your best to get through the task, focus on completion knowing you have to maintain “a” relationship; even if you never want to work with each other ever again
- Listen for feedback, ask for it and use it!!!
- It is okay to make it through the journey, appreciate the learnings and go your separate ways.
- Finally, I gained a clear understanding why some animals eat their young
