There is a lot going on in the world right now. Technology is advancing faster and faster. Everything is changing rapidly. When the world is moving faster, it is hard to keep up with it. If you always strive for improvement and aren’t content with your current situation, you need to move slower. Because you already have everything you need. Sometimes taking a break to reflect on yourself is all you need.
Life is not always about improvement. In order to make sense of the world, you need to view it from a higher point. You need to have a better understanding of yourself and others. The faster the world is moving, the more important it becomes to reflect. You are on a sailor’s journey
We have already seen developments that have changed the way we live. the internet and the smartphone have changed our social lives, the way we interact with each other and the way we consume information. Everything you need to know is available in your pocket. I am not saying this is a bad thing.
It gives us a tremendous opportunity to build a fulfilling life. Without the internet, you would not be able to read these articles or create your life’s work online. But it comes with a challenge. You need to use these resources in a way that enhances your wellbeing. You need to learn how to work with these new tools. It is very easy to lose yourself in the sea of information. Your ship is easily breakable if you sail over a big wave. You need to learn how to go with the flow of information.
“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” Mahatma Gandhi
A Sailor’s Journey | How to go with the flow
When a storm comes, you must be prepared and stop sailing. You need to identify when your brain is overloaded with information. Then you need to repair the damage and take care of your crew. The way you can do that, is by:
- Stop using your phone for a while. Stop consuming content on social media
- Enjoy the silence and find more inner peace. Start meditating, listen to your gut
- Take walks to clear your mind, process the thoughts and bring a fresh new perspective
- Spend quality time with your friends and family
- Read books that tell a good story, read them without a goal in mind
- Know that things will be alright. Do not panic or lose your calm
- Appreciate the simple things in life (birds chirping, a good cup of coffee, good music)
When you repair the damage, you are better able to start sailing again. You have made your ship stronger, so that it can overcome a bigger wave. You have new life experience, and you have found a better direction using your compass. Now you have a better understanding of what you want to do, and how you want to design your life. Every time the wave is too big, you can fall back on these actions, and refine your direction. But it does not stop there. You need to know where you are sailing towards. You need to find out where the island with the treasure is.
Find out your treasure
Everyone has a mission in life. Many of us aren’t able to find out what it is, because we haven’t taken the time to figure it out. We are sailing with a broken sail. It is not moving us toward the island. We do not know the life we want to build. That is why you need to take the time to find out what you love to do. Identify what makes you exciting. Is it writing, music or art? Or is it sports or filmmaking? You need to think of yourself as a creator.
Everyone has creativity inside, you just need to find your way of expressing yourself. You need to take the role as the captain of your ship. Use your creativity to map out the island with the treasure. You have already found out a way to repair your ship with high tide. Now you need to use the internet to your advantage. That means, you need to express yourself on the internet and social media. Use it as a creation tool, and consume things only when you need to learn something new. Keep these things in mind when you create:
- Design your life for more peace and happiness, create a quiet space or creativity space
- Embrace imperfection, put yourself out there and avoid judging yourself
- Do not compare yourself with others, compare yourself with who you were yesterday
- See it as your life’s work, focus on the process and build your own style
Note that there are more ships and more captains sailing the sea. But there are also many other islands with treasures to discover. Learn from your journey, talk to your crew and listen to their advice. They will help you guide through the sea toward the treasure.
“You will recognize your own path when you come upon it, because you will suddenly have all the energy and imagination you will ever need.” ~ Jerry Gillies
Leaving the island
The moment you have found your creative expression and use the internet and modern technology to your advantage, you have found the treasure. You know what you want in life, you have found something meaningful and a way to live a fulfilling life. But it doesn’t end there. Because the treasure isn’t worth anything if you don’t trade it for basic needs. A sailor has basic needs. He needs to eat, drink, have clothes and shelter. He also needs to provide for his family.
Everyone has basic needs and must make money for them. But the way you make this money really depends. For a captain of a ship, finding the treasure is a real adventure. It comes with new challenges every time. It never gets boring. Everyone can become the captain of the ship. You need to take full responsibility for your life. You need to create your journey, you need to draw the route of the map yourself. The captain needs to find people to trade his treasure with. You need other people that appreciate what you do, and you need to provide value to them in order to get something in return. In order to find these people, you need to:
- Share your work online. Use different platforms and apps to your advantage
- Provide people with as much value as possible first
- Receive feedback from your audience, discover the pain points and build solutions around that
- Build a community or tribe. Get into contact with other creators and form an alliance
- Incorporate a deep focus routine into your life, where you focus on one task for an hour that will bring you forward
- Learn from the market, experiment with your creations and see what people find interesting, then provide them with more content based around those topics
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.“ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Start a new campaign
The greatest thing about the creators path, is that there is no ending to the journey. Because there is always a new challenge. It is like a game. You begin as an inexperienced captain. You were once a sailor, and now you are figuring out how to be the captain of your ship. At first, you do not have that much experience or skills. In order to gain experience and skills, you need to take action. Just try out a bunch of things and see what sticks.
Try out different types of content, write about multiple interests. You have to experiment at first. When you have done this, you will have a better way of working with your compass, and how to navigate the sea. Once you have found your first treasure, it becomes easier to find the next one. You have met new traders who would like to trade for your treasure. Each time you repeat this process, you will become a better known captain. Every time you will refine yourself, and become better able to help other people and express yourself.
“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” – Benjamin Franklin
I hope you found this article helpful. If you want to receive more articles like this, make sure to subscribe to my newsletter, where you will receive articles every week.
Also check out my latest post called Growth Mindset | Unlock Your Potential that you may like.
Good luck with your journey,
Mart Bergsma
