#33 - The Easiest Way to do the Hardest Things

Outsourcing common sense

Ross Edgley should be a national treasure and a household name.

He's been described as a "British David Goggins," and while that might be a fair comparison when it comes to their feats of endurance, Ross’ personality and happy-go-lucky charm make him one-of-a-kind.

Ross gained relative fame in 2018 when he completed 'The Great British Swim' - a 157-day, 1,792-mile swim around the perimeter of Britain. He typically swam 6 hours on and 6 hours off, fuelling himself with 15,000 calories a day. When Ross completed the swim, he said, "It's my hope that people remember the Great British Swim as an example or experiment in both mental and physical fortitude."

Before that, Ross ran a marathon pulling a car, ran 1,000km in a month while barefoot, completed 30 marathons in 30 days, a triathlon whilst carrying a tree and a rope climb of 8,848m (the height of Mt. Everest).

As well as being a physical beast, Ross is entertaining, wise, and stoic. He has written 4-books and is a brilliant podcast guest. I can't recommend listening to his latest episode with Chris Williamson enough.

In this episode, he talks through his latest feat and world record - the longest non-stop river swim ever.

Over 60 hours, Ross swam 317 miles down the River Yukon without stopping, touching land, or sleeping, all in water temperatures of around 9 degrees. Side note: I once swam in water of 9 degrees, and I still have the email certificate for the "cold water club." I lasted 15 minutes.

In the podcast, Ross discusses tactics and tips for training, preparation, overcoming pain and the desire to quit. But one point he made really stuck with me.

We’re all familiar with the idea of taking the “path of least resistance.” The path of least resistance is the easiest route to an outcome or a goal. Often, this is smart and worthwhile, but may not be consistent with doing hard things.

This isn’t necessarily what Ross advocates. Instead, one of his pearls of wisdom and tactics within the swim was to:

Find The Path of Most Assistance.

Ross mentions this idea on a couple of occasions. When describing the approach to swimming in the river, he said:

“It was my first river swim, so I was completely listening to the team. I tried to swim it as hard as I could as a swimmer, whereas what became very apparent is you need to treat it like you are a sailor, treating your body like a vessel. So I was trying to find the path of least resistance, or the path of most assistance, constantly weaving my way down the river (to make the most of the streams and currents)”.

There is no doubt that what Ross did was unimaginably difficult. But, he didn’t swim upstream. He used what he could in the river and the conditions to his advantage, making the effort as “easy” as it could be.

He also said:

“We had four boats, there was one that went up ahead to make sure there was no moose, bear or log jams and also to find the path of most assistance. There was another boat that was constantly feeding me so it was constantly by my side and then there was another one which was the mother ship, slightly larger that had a bed on it so people could sleep and then there was one that was behind making all of the hot water. And that just worked in a perfect unison.”

As you might expect in an expedition like this, Ross took advantage of an elite support team, leaving him to focus just on swimming and retaining his mental capacities, which is not the easiest thing to do when fighting sleep deprivation and trying to avoid hypothermia.

Ross “outsourced his common sense” to his team. He got to the point where he couldn’t trust his own brain or body, so was utterly reliant on the team to keep him fuelled, on track and to know if and when he was reaching the point where his mental or physical state required intervention.

There is so much that you can take from Ross’ story, his general approach and outlook that I could write for 5 weeks inspired by him. Whether it’s the idea that the human body can take far more than you might think possible, the motivation to do things that raise the bar, or how to stay positive even when you’ve soiled your wetsuit and your tongue is falling apart. But this idea of outsourcing common sense and finding help wherever you can, whatever you’re doing, resonated most.

Ross’ story can be applied to how we approach challenges, big and small. The philosophy of finding the path of most assistance is powerful - even when tackling the most demanding tasks, we don’t have to do it alone, nor should we. Leaning on others, utilising resources at our disposal and being strategic about where we use our energy can be key to achieving big things.

This is obviously not about taking the easy way out but rather finding the easiest way to do the hardest things. Ross didn't swim 317 miles by force of will alone. He harnessed the river's currents, relied on a skilled team, and preserved his mental and physical strength by focusing on what only he could do: swim. 

As he describes the journey, you might imagine the river as a metaphor. Currents will push and pull us; finding how we can use them in our favour can be a game-changer. In our own way, we all have tailwinds we can find, support crews that we should use.

‘What would Ross Edgley do’, has just been added to my vocabulary. I know that I'll never break any swimming world records. But I also know that more is possible—by pushing as hard as I can, yes, but also by finding support, using conditions to my advantage, and knowing who might help me through the toughest parts. 

Thanks for reading, see you next week. ✌🏻❤️