Cruise Your Way to the Top: Embrace a Seafaring Strategy for Success
Article #111 of Life Unlocked - A weekly newsletter by Dr Yath
Hey friends,
Imagine you want to get from point A, an island where you currently reside (representing your current life), to point B, a distant island representing your future goals, ambitions, or the values you wish to implement in your life. This journey might symbolise your career ambitions or wider life ambitions.
You could attempt to swim, but such an endeavour would surely lead to exhaustion and inevitable failure. The equivalent in life is diving headfirst into your goals without preparation or support, leading to burnout and discouragement. It could also represent taking an extremely inefficient route. For example, you wouldn’t dare walking from London to New York. There are flights for a reason.
Alternatively, taking a flight would be ideal for a swift journey towards the distant island (your future goals), but the reality is that you may not have the resources or opportunities for such an effortless transition. Thus, in life's context, quick fixes or shortcuts are often not viable options.
Okay, now let’s explore an analogy and systems thinking approach I came up with after reflecting on my own goals in career and life.
Building Your Vessel: Systems and Principles
Instead, you need to build a boat to carry you across the vast expanse between the two islands. This boat symbolises the systems, guiding principles, and workflows you establish for yourself. A small boat, akin to weak or poorly designed systems, won't get you far; the journey will be perilous and inefficient. You’ll most likely sink with time. Even a slightly larger boat might still leave you vulnerable to life's tumultuous waves.
What you truly need is a ship, a robust and well-constructed vessel guided by systems thinking. This ship represents the solid foundation of routines, habits, and frameworks that steer your progress and help you navigate challenges effectively.
The Boring Ship vs. The Cruise Ship
Consider the difference between a container ferry and a cruise ship. A container ferry, although functional, is monotonous and uninviting, much like a life driven solely by rigid systems and relentless productivity. This approach might get you to your destination, but it comes with a high risk of burnout and dissatisfaction.
On the other hand, envision a cruise ship. A cruise ship is not only functional but also enjoyable and luxurious. It includes entertainment, relaxation, and joy along the journey. Translating this to your life means designing systems that incorporate fun, creativity, and personal fulfilment. This way, the process of reaching your goals becomes as rewarding as the goals themselves.
The Cruise Ship Analogy in Action
This cruise ship analogy helps highlight the importance of building enjoyable and sustainable systems for achieving your life goals. Here’s how you can start constructing your personal cruise ship:
Identify Core Systems: Determine the essential routines and habits that will form the backbone of your journey. These could include time management techniques, carving out protected dedicated time to work on your future, or investing in up skilling yourself.
Incorporate Joy and Leisure: Make sure your systems are not all work and no play. Schedule time for hobbies, social activities, and relaxation. These elements will make your journey more enjoyable and sustainable.
Set Guiding Values: Establish core values that will steer your decisions and actions. These might include financial freedom, time freedom, and location freedom. Your values act as the ship's compass, ensuring you stay on course and allow you course correct towards back your principles when things aren’t going your way.
Build Flexibility: Life is unpredictable, and your systems should be adaptable. Incorporate flexibility to adjust your course when necessary, allowing for detours and unexpected opportunities. Give yourself breathing space and allow for slippage in your timelines. This way when things don’t go to plan, the hit doesn’t feel so hard.
Celebrate Small Wins: Recognise and celebrate your achievements along the way. These celebrations are like the onboard entertainment on cruise ship and the all inclusive meals and drinks, providing motivation and joy as you progress.
Conclusion
Navigating life from point A to point B requires more than just ambition, discipline and time; it demands a well-thought-out approach embodied by the cruise ship analogy. By building robust systems and infusing them with joy and fulfilment, you can ensure that your journey towards your goals is not only successful but also enjoyable.
Embrace this method of systems thinking and watch as your path becomes smoother, your progress more consistent, and your life richer in both achievement and happiness. For me, this is how I transitioned from an unfulfilling career in medicine to a now enjoyable path in health-tech.
Recommendation 👀
I would highly recommend reading Slow Productivity by Cal Newport. If you’re an anti-productivity-productivity-guy like me who thinks most mainstream advice around productivity is b*llshit then you’ll enjoy this book. Cal Newport explains how we’ve defined productivity in the new era is wrong, and then goes onto argue why doing less is actually doing more.
Quote 🧠
"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." — Charles Darwin
As always be safe, and be happy.
Take care - Yath 🤟🏾
Support my work - I’d love a coffee.
Building systems and frameworks that guides as you go will surely put you at a more likely odd of achieving your goals.
Great article.
Really love reading your writings, Yath! Splendid article