Curling, Comfort Zones & Courage: Lessons I Will Never Forget

I can’t believe it was five years ago this month that I had the good fortune to curl with an amazing team of women at arena nationals. It was my first competition at this level and as a less experienced curler I played lead for our team (aka - shoot first, then sweep.) I quickly realized when we were (bag) piped into the arena during opening ceremonies how far outside my comfort zone I had travelled. When a huge time clock and score board is staring back at you, you realize very quickly that each and every one of your actions matters (and I wanted to use every one of my actions to help our team win.)  I was so fortunate to be alongside experienced (and teaching oriented) teammates, who broke down the process for me, understood what it is like to manage energy over a weeklong competition, and provided immediate feedback so I could improve every game. While I know there were moments where I made mistakes and felt ‘over my skis’, I got better with each end, and was so proud to head home with a Silver Medal that week. Every year since then, when this ‘memory’ comes up on my social media – I re-remind myself of the lessons from that experience, and gauge how I can continue to apply them going forward.

• Take a risk, leave your comfort zone, embrace the unknown (You can accomplish so much more than you sometimes realize & that is truly where the magic happens.)
• Find mentors who provide coaching and encourage you to improve (in the moment examples and suggestions make a huge difference.)
• You gain respect in those moments where you cannot seem to find your shot, but you find other ways to contribute (in some moments for me it was sweeping and weight calls.)
• Never give up. (One day we lost both games and had to win the last 2 to make it to the playoffs. We did.)
• Don’t dwell on the last shot too long; Learn from it and be more confident in the next (you can’t change the past, but you sure can learn from it to impact the near-term future.)
• Celebrate small wins along the path (Whether a curling competition, a work project, or life in general – take time to celebrate milestones with your ‘team’. While you remember the wins, you also remember the people and the pride in what you’ve accomplished together.)

Finally, this reminds me that curling is so much like product management, which is likely why I love both. You need a competitive strategy, there is a roadmap for building to the desired outcome (you rarely win in one shot,) the conditions are always evolving, whoever responds to evolving conditions the quickest tends to be successful, collaboration and communication are critical, how you assess and respond to missed shots makes a huge difference in the ultimate outcome, you are often outside your comfort zone, and resilience and passion are key elements of ultimate success. Thanks to my teammates and a week competing in Philadelphia five years ago, these are lessons I will embrace for a lifetime.