Imagine you are a sail boat. You’ve been built for the high seas, and grand adventures. You’re all ready to set sail, but you don’t know where to go. Italy would be fun. But maybe the first trip should be to France. No, wait, England! It’s got to be England! No Italy would be better than England. What were we thinking?
This is the place we often sit. We’re ready to go on our trip, but instead we’re waiting. This trip is, of course, an analogy for our life. We always thought we’d be doing something special with our life, but we’re not sure what it should look like. So we stay in the harbor.
The harbor
There are a number of reasons we stay in the harbor. One reason is that we don’t seem up to the task. The ocean seems bigger than we are. We are afraid we’ll fail. What if we get part way across and then have to turn back? What will people think?
Another reason we stay in the harbor is this idea that we have to have the perfect voyage. The conditions have to be just right. We have to exactly know our destination. So we wait.
And yet another reason we stay in the harbor is that it seems so safe. We think that if we stay in the harbor, at least nothing bad will happen to us.
I’ve been there, done that – got the T-shirt. After my heart attack in 2005, I wanted to change they way I lived and live a more influential life. I had thoughts of changing my career, but it didn’t seem possible. That “ocean” just seemed too big. So, I stayed in my old career. I “stayed in the harbor.” But staying in the harbor was ever increasingly depressing.
After several years, I decided to venture out. I couldn’t stand the harbor any more. In my journey, I learned a few things:
- Conditions are never just right. There are always reasons we can come up with to say that right now isn’t a good time. We started our coaching business in 2009 right in the middle of the “great recession.” It wasn’t a good time. But we wouldn’t be where we are today if we hadn’t done that.
- The really big important things in life are always bigger than us. The only way to become up to such a task is to step out. We need to believe in ourself. In Christian vernacular, God doesn’t call the qualified. Instead, he qualifies the called.
- In life, we rarely get a map with a destination. Instead, we get a compass heading. And the destination clarifies for us only after we step out. Notice that if we set sail out of the harbor for Italy, and half way we change our minds to go to France, it’s just a small course correction. Instead we’re staying in the harbor, hoping for a clear destination to appear before we set out.
- The harbor really isn’t safe. Instead, playing it safe is like slowly dying on the inside. We bury our dreams. We squash our goals, and our soul. We let others decide for us. We avoid being a part of something new. We never venture out, and the part of us that wants vibrant life dies a little bit each day. It turns out, the harbor is the most dangerous place to remain.
Set Sail
I want to encourage you to set sail. You weren’t built to stay in the harbor. Like a sail boat, you were created uniquely, and you were meant to sail the high seas and live grand adventures.
It’s definitely not the right time. You are likely not qualified, You aren’t sure of the right approach, and you’re missing a lot of the steps to get there. It doesn’t look like you’re up to the task. It’s definitely not comfortable. Set sail anyway.
Write that book. Get the degree. Mentor some people. Go on the mission. Visit the foreign country. Create that product. Forgive that person. Share your story. Reconnect with that friend. Finish that project. Rescue some inner city kids. Do something about sex trafficking. Adopt a child. Make a movie. Whatever it is that’s calling to you, set sail. Be amazing. Be the miracle.
