Thursday, January 26, 2012

Focus

“If a man does not know to what port he is steering, no wind is favourable to him.” Seneca. Epistolae, LXXI., 3.

Imagine you are sailing.

If you put to the sea, and you sail the way the wind blows, you will make great progress.  You will likely end up going round in ragged circles.

On the other hand, if you set yourself a destination, you can develop a strategy based on your knowledge of the prevailing winds.  You can sail on a broad reach one day, close-hauled when the wind shifts.  At times, you may have to heave to and just hold your ground until the ill wind blows over.

With a goal and a strategy, there’s a good chance you will reach your destination.

Sometimes you won’t.  Perhaps the prevailing winds make it difficult or impossible to reach your intended harbour before you run out of supplies.  You track your position against the waypoints you’ve set for yourself, and you observe that, even with the best sailing skills you can muster, your strategy is not working.

You may have to choose an alternate destination that is reachable given what nature is sending your way.  With Plan B and an appropriate new strategy, you tack your way into Port B just in time.

This parable illustrates to me the balance that lies somewhere between sticking with a goal that is out of my control, and looking for the answer by blowing in the wind.  If I set my goal and my strategy, if I give it my all, if I monitor my progress and make course corrections – even changing direction at times – I can reach some exciting ports of call.

If I pick no port to sail for, and sail in the easiest direction, chances are I’ll end up shipwrecked on an uninhabited stretch of coastline.