Where is Your “Ship of Life” Parked?
Curiosity has me wondering where you have the ship parked that represents who you are and what you do. Do you have it safely moored in the safe harbor slip? Think about this…Ships are safe in the harbor, but that’s not what they’re built for. Keeping your ship in the harbor is like permanently parking your vehicle in the garage so you never have to worry about being in an accident nor getting a ticket. Where’s the purpose in that? It does seem to be easier to see a vehicle for just what it’s intended for rather than a life metaphor, so let’s think of the ship representing our life. A life reflected by the hopes and dreams we hold deep in our heart. You know, the hopes and dreams we fear pursuing because it may not be safe if we venture out and utilize our life (ship) for what it was built for.
Most people fear death and I’m not sure why. Fear doesn’t prevent death. In reality, fear prevents life. It also can prevent us from pursuing our hopes and dreams from coming true, especially if we have our life securely and safely parked in the harbor. Why venture away from safety if we’re not forced to? I’ll tell you why, because every one of us is built for adventure. Going back to when people lived in caves, we were designed to be people of action. Being a person of action is the only way to move forward, to make progress, to pursue dreams, and to achieve the things that bring us joy.
Think about the fact that every person’s life is a story. That being an accepted universal truth, then, if your ship never leaves the safety of the harbor and is permanently tied to the dock, wouldn’t that limit the story of your life to maybe as little as one simple paragraph? They came. They lived safely in the harbor never leaving the confines of the dock they were parked at. They died. They mastered asking the question: But what if I fail? That question has prevented an untold number of people from ever taking any form of action. The better question to ask is “But what if I succeed?” Changing one word from “fail” to “succeed” instantly moves you from worry to excitement.
Some form of ACTION moves you from worry to excitement. I created a saying that has served me well for decades and taken me instantly from the worry associated with fear of failure to the excitement of pursuing and embracing success. The saying is “Winners never lose. They either win or they learn.” I’m not afraid of making a mistake, I just never want to make the same mistake twice. There’s a lot to learn when things don’t go as planned, but that’s the sweet spot where new actions can take us to the place we really want to be.
Think about your life when a major storm comes upon you. What do you normally do? There’s great value in another saying I like to utilize when a storm enters my life, which is “The pessimist complains about the wind. The Optimist expects the winds to change. A leader trims the sails.” Both the optimist and pessimist choose to do nothing and wait, but a person of action faces the storm and figures out how to use it to their advantage. A person of action has their bucket of life overflowing with adventure, embracing anything and everything life throws at them.
FYI, this isn’t me waxing philosophically about what might happen in a person’s life, this is me sharing what has worked extremely well when I’ve been far from shore and storms that weren’t on my radar were suddenly upon me. What an adventurous life I’ve had the privilege of living. Utilizing the saying’s above and the thought processes that I’ve honed over the years, I now find myself being a person that’s willing to take immediate action and trim the sails to accommodate whichever way the storm might be blowing.
It's really the sincere hope that I have for all of you that inspired me write about this today. While I’ve experienced more than my share of curve balls hurling at me in life, with well-thought-out action, I’ve made each and every one of them an exciting and exhilarating chapter in the story of my life. And yes, I’ve enjoyed the calm, the peace, and the security of being parked in the safe harbor at different times in my life. But with each new day, I prepare to raise the mainsail and set off to another adventure with fear behind me and excitement ahead of me. I encourage you to explore the places you may have previously avoided and pursue the life you’re destined for. All you need to get started is taking some form of action. Remember…when life throws you lemons, stay focused on the lemonade recipe that works best for YOU and venture into the fulfilling life of your favorite hopes and dreams. Hey…I Believe In YOU! GiddyUp!