Boat without a rudder

A sailboat's course is determined by 1.) direction of the wind relative to the sails - called the tack, and 2.) the rudder - which essentially steers the boat. The sailboat's tack involves gauging the wind, and trimming the sails to the appropriate point of sail. These actions essentially harness and channel the wind's energy to push the boat forward. Trimming the sails and reading the wind is a much lengthier discussion, so in this space, we will discuss the role of the rudder.


As seen below, the rudder is where the "rubber meets to road" (wow, I need a better expression here. . .) Okay here it goes - A rudder is where the "wood meets the water" (much better). The rudder is a submerged, movable surface controlled by the skipper. To steer, the skipper utilizes the tiller which is connects to the rudder and allows the skipper to change the rudder's angle, and thereby the boat's course.


The underside of most sailboats also have a keel which looks like a rudder but much larger. The keel acts as a stabilizer and a massive couterweight to the wind's sail force. The keel weighs roughly 1/2 of the boat's weight. The keel enables the sailboat to keep a steady course and "heel" which is when the boat leans over to one side under wind pressure.

Now that I've bored you with some boat basics, let's get philosophical. For a moment, let's envision a boat to be a person, and a boat's journey to represent life. The water, wind and weather represent life's driving force, inevitable challenges and obstacles. Pretty straight forward, right?


With a little bigger dose of metaphor, we could probably liken a boat's keel to a person's values, morals and beliefs. Like a keel, they seldom change and act as a stabilizer to outside forces and prevent us from swaying too much - they keep us grounded.


. . . Which leads us to the rudder. I ask you, what does the rudder represent in life? Take a brief moment to think about your answer. . . it could represent a lot of things:

- Goals?

- Dreams?

- Decisions?

- Inspiration?

- Talents?

- Skills?

- Discipline?

- Habits?

Asked another way, if a life was missing it's metaphorical rudder, what would it be missing? What steers YOU?!

Stop reading and start thinking: What steers YOU?! What's your rudder? What allows you to navigate the waters of life successfully? MANY people don't have a good answer to this question. The reason? Read on. . .

From the above bullet-pointed list, the ones most representative of a rudder are:

- Decisions

- Discipline

- Habits

Why? Sailing requires constant attention to the tiller and rudder. The winds and waters are in constant flux, so the skipper has to constantly monitor the rudder while steering the boat. In this light, the rudder is very similar to our decisions day-in and day-out. These small decisions over time add up to a larger impact on our life journey.

Decisions are cognitive choices we make. Discipline is self-controlled behavior. Habits combine the two to establish a pattern through repetition.

*N.B. If you haven't already read Covery's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People buy it and read it this month - you'll never look back.*

Good habits steer boats - and lives - to the best destination.

Interesting tidbit - numerous psychological and behavioral studies have shown that it takes 21 days to make a habit. Meaning, it takes 21 days of repetitious behaviour to establish a reliable pattern. We humans are a fickle bunch!

A life without habits is a boat without a rudder. Establish effective habits today and set sail towards the life you deserve.