Don't wait for certainty - do something!

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If you've been reading this blog for long, you know that I have a friend who is rowing from Portugal to Costa Rica, and that I am constantly finding parallels between that and creating the career of your dreams.

Take uncertainty, for example. So many people are stuck in their careers, waiting for "certainty" to arrive so they can take a step towards work they love. But certainty seldom comes from standing still, so they keep trudging down that same dissatisfied path until either the frustration grows greater than the fear, or they retire.

For Erden (my friend) and Tim (his rowing partner), uncertainty pretty much defined the beginning of the journey. Erden had no open water rowing experience, Tim only had experience from rowing a converted sailboat across the Bering Sea, and they had only met each other briefly once before (go here for the story on how it came about).

Now, with the bulk of the Atlantic Ocean still ahead of them, a definite certainty still isn't part of the picture. But after nearly a thousand miles of rowing, they do have a greater certainty that they can handle whatever comes up. As Erden says in yesterday's dispatch:

By now, we know our limits, and we know the boat. Our minds are tuned to the winds and waves, we seem to be able to figure out what is required of us to reach a given destination. I am more confident in our abilities now than I was back in Lisbon; we will grin when that silly "have you done anything like that before?" question ever comes up again, instead of fidgeting...

With experience comes confidence, and understanding, and the knowledge that you really can handle things as they come. But the only way to get that experience is to plunge into the uncertainty and start rowing.

Ultimately, certainty doesn't come from waiting - it comes from doing. You don't have to take giant-leap steps like Erden and Tim...but you do have to take steps.

What step can you take this week - big or small - to move you toward your dreams? How about next week?

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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst ^TM

 

 

Comments

[Mark Sicignano]

A wonderful post. I'm one of those people for who the "frustration overcame the uncertainty". I was stuck in a bad situation in my personal and work life all at the same time. It became clear to me that standing still wasn't making anything better. The attempts at trying to improve things incrementally didn't seem to be working either since I was taking one step forward and two steps back most of the time.

17 years ago I was fresh out of college and nothing scared me, but over 15 years, I'd become risk-averse, and fearful of things. I felt overwhelmed with what I felt that I had to learn to kept putting things off. More and more I'd started to put up with obstacles that I used to bound over in my younger days.

I describe what I did next as "jumping out of the airplane with the intention of finding a parachute somewhere on the way down."

I admitted to friends that I had probably lost my mind, but I felt that I was in a crisis situation that would have buried me if I didn't take a big step. I wasn't rash about it. I had thought about my options for six months, and talked to family and friends about it.

There were naysayers that I had to learn to ignore, or stop hanging out with altogether.

My life since then has definately better. I enjoy what I'm doing far more, I've been fearlessly learning all sorts of things and getting better at it, just like Erden and Tim are. It's quite a feeling to be "unstuck" and I feel a bit younger again.

Listen to what Curt, Tim and Erden are saying. You WILL learn by doing. You won't have any regrets either.

[Curt Rosengren]

Congratulations Mark!