I have been enjoying reading Brene Brown's 'The Gifts of Imperfection' recently which, in turn, has lead me to ponder the link between shame and vulnerability. To wonder about how it is that being afraid to try something new, for fear of ridicule, gets in the way of being courageous. How not wanting to be laughed at stops us from embracing new challenges.
For those of you who know a little of my personal story, that's us in the picture at the top. The beautiful yacht Atmosphere anchored at Whites Bay, Middle Percy Island, QLD on the 29th September last year (yes we have a Facebook page, and yes you can follow us on if you need to vicariously live your pirate/sailing fantasies!).
It all looks amazing. Beautiful yacht on anchor. Pristine and isolated beach. The colour. The privacy.It is a really seductive image and does a great job at masking the tension I had wrestled with for some weeks as we made our way up the coast. When do I embrace what we have achieved and stop ruminating on the past failure as a reflection of what lies ahead?
It all started well. We left Hervey Bay in July of 2015, well stocked with food, water, books, diesel and a whole lot of enthusiasm. Bad weather and a blown up engine later and we were limping back into Hervey Bay within 7 days of our departure. It felt humiliating. Such are the stories you tell before you leave, that too not even make it out of the Wide Bay felt like a sorry reflection on our own absurd plans to spend the next few years cruising.
Initially I was tempted to give in to the thought that really our plan was just too grandiose. But focusing on the hard (and expensive) work that lay ahead to replace our motor and get our mojo back was grounding and humbling. Our friends and family surrounded us with generosity, motivation and a good dose of tough love.
It was then I decided that failure was not defeat, but an opportunity to test how motivated I was to the goal at hand. It was about grit and determination. Tenacity and innovation.
And now, twelve months later, we are planning the next leg of our sailing story. It will involve some failure - or some re-jigging of the initial plan. But thats our story and we are fortunate to be able to write it ourselves, so that failure can sometimes be rewritten as new direction, or adversity overcome.
For those of you who know a little of my personal story, that's us in the picture at the top. The beautiful yacht Atmosphere anchored at Whites Bay, Middle Percy Island, QLD on the 29th September last year (yes we have a Facebook page, and yes you can follow us on if you need to vicariously live your pirate/sailing fantasies!).
It all looks amazing. Beautiful yacht on anchor. Pristine and isolated beach. The colour. The privacy.It is a really seductive image and does a great job at masking the tension I had wrestled with for some weeks as we made our way up the coast. When do I embrace what we have achieved and stop ruminating on the past failure as a reflection of what lies ahead?
It all started well. We left Hervey Bay in July of 2015, well stocked with food, water, books, diesel and a whole lot of enthusiasm. Bad weather and a blown up engine later and we were limping back into Hervey Bay within 7 days of our departure. It felt humiliating. Such are the stories you tell before you leave, that too not even make it out of the Wide Bay felt like a sorry reflection on our own absurd plans to spend the next few years cruising.
Initially I was tempted to give in to the thought that really our plan was just too grandiose. But focusing on the hard (and expensive) work that lay ahead to replace our motor and get our mojo back was grounding and humbling. Our friends and family surrounded us with generosity, motivation and a good dose of tough love.
It was then I decided that failure was not defeat, but an opportunity to test how motivated I was to the goal at hand. It was about grit and determination. Tenacity and innovation.
And now, twelve months later, we are planning the next leg of our sailing story. It will involve some failure - or some re-jigging of the initial plan. But thats our story and we are fortunate to be able to write it ourselves, so that failure can sometimes be rewritten as new direction, or adversity overcome.