Steady at the Helm

I went sailing over the weekend. Somewhere in the midst of the rocky seas the captain of the small boat asked me to take the helm (probably to keep me from getting sea sick). The growing swells were pitching and rolling, the winds gusting, and to keep our course it felt like I had to make large corrections with the wheel.

The captain looked at me several times and said “Small turns. Small turns.” I picked a beacon on land and began to notice that although it felt like the seas were pushing our vessel off course, it was subtle corrections at the helm that kept us moving in our desired direction.

Back in the harbor, I realized that if I had been swayed by the seas the trajectory of our return would have been much different and far longer. For sailors, being off course a few degrees can mean the difference between landing in Hawaii or being lost at sea. All the more reason to stay steady at the helm. Small adjustments over time have a big impact on reaching our desired destination.