Jacob K. Lehman

Ever since a family trip to Mystic Seaport as a kid, I’ve had a fondness for sea shanties. A group in Chicago gathered monthly to sing them at a bar near where we lived, and a few weeks ago we went to the first meeting of the Ithaca Sea Shanties group (though I had lost my voice, so couldn’t do much more than cue some lyrics). Religious groups have long known the bonding power of communal singing, regardless of the quality of the voices involved (and so have college sports fans- fight songs exist to be sung with at least a few dozen, and maybe 100,000+ of your closest friends, not to be listened to). We live in a world that idolizes excellence (and professionalization) at skills. It’s nice to be involved in an activity where one CAN try to perform excellently, but also need not. Just sharing a new song with the group or recommending an old favorite that others haven’t done is enough to participate, contribute, and be involved. Sometimes it’s enough just to be there, to be a witness and audience for the more skilled performers and to be a part of the occasion, pint in hand. We don’t need to be great at everything we do, or even to be striving for greatness. Working with MBAs and Ivy League students there’s a tendency to focus on outperformance, on excellence, and I get that we want to be admired, to be recognized, to take pride in our work, but as much as sailing was and is a skilled activity, when everyone needs to pull on a rope at the same time, what matters is just that you’re another pair of hands. So show up for things and don’t worry about whether it’s the optimal use of your time; the world needs your involvement more than your excellence.