• Home
  • About
  • Members
  • Authors
  • Resources
  • Email
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Courses

Strategic Dreams

Because life won't wait...

Start Planning Your Dreams:
FREE Newsletter subscription. One-click unsubscribe.
We hate spam as much as you do. You have our promise not to sell or share your email address.
  • Goal Setting
  • Life Plan
  • Personal Planning
  • Purpose
  • Decision Making
  • Motivation
  • Time Management
  • Strategy
  • Mindset
Strategic Dreams is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn commissions at no additional cost to you. As an Amazon affiliate we earn from qualifying purchases. You can read our full affiliate disclosure here.

Life is like sailing

By Franciane Ulaf

Life is like sailing
Save or share

One of the most frequent questions we get about planning and goal setting is: how can I set goals and plan if I can’t predict the future, and life changes so much? Some people refrain from planning altogether because they feel so powerless. How can one possibly control life? How can I guarantee that I’m really going to reach my goals?

There’s a few issues with those common questions:

1. The first one is that life doesn’t change as much as people assume. Yes, we can’t predict the future, but it’s not as if we live in a war zone! Major unexpected changes rarely happen. We can perfectly plan and work towards our goals without any major disturbance from “life”.

2. Second, we don’t need to control life in order to reach our goals. That’s another big myth. We plan and we do our own thing. If we find obstacles, we work to overcome them. If we fail, we try again, or revise our plans. This idea arises in people that feel like they need to know and control every single aspect of their lives. They try to control situations, other people, and of course, if they plan, they attempt to control every single aspect of it. The root of this behavior is insecurity.

3. And third, if you expect guarantees to start doing something in your life, I’m sorry to inform you, but you’re already a loser! If you’ve read my articles before, there’s a chance you’ve heard me saying this: guarantees are for losers! Only losers expect certainty. Life is uncertain. I don’t know if I’ll be alive tomorrow. Heck, I could be dead in a few hours for all I know! If you need to make sure something will definitely work before you even start, you won’t do much with your life.

Life is like sailing

This metaphor is old. You’ve probably heard it before. It’s so true, isn’t it? We live as if we were sailboats sailing on the sea of life. We can’t control nature, we can’t control the oceans, all we can do is lead our little boat to whatever direction we want to go and adapt to changes and obstacles along the way.

That’s exactly what sailors have been doing for thousands of years. Sometimes they fail, but more often than not, they reach their goals and arrive at their desired destinations.

Planning is much like sailing. Life can be as unpredictable as the oceans, but we can still manage to reach our destinations without the need to control anything but ourselves.

Don’t get caught up on the “what if’s” surrounding the uncertainties of life.

But what if I waste all this time and things don’t work out in the end?

Well, let’s rephrase it this way:

What if you don’t do anything because you’re so afraid that it might not work?

I don’t really get this rationale. What are the consequences of just not doing anything? Isn’t that worse than trying and failing?

Sometimes all it takes is a little meditation. Think about your fears, all those “what if’s” that keep you from being as productive as you could be. When we think profoundly about things, we tend to find that our line of thinking is flawed in many ways.


Save or share

About Franciane Ulaf

Franciane Ulaf is a psychologist and life coach. Ulaf has been writing about psychology and life planning since 1998. Author website | Follow on Twitter | Facebook

Filed Under: Strategy Tagged With: Goal setting, Goals, Life goals, Personal planning, Personal strategic planning, Strategic Planning

Related Posts

Related Posts

Strategic Dreams

Start Planning Your Dreams:


  • Latest
  • Popular
  • How can I plan if I don’t know the future? How can I plan if I don’t know the future?
  • Why resilience is the real secret to happiness Why resilience is the real secret to happiness
  • The art of dream design: using project management in your personal life The art of dream design: using project management in your personal life
  • Who’s in charge of your life? Who’s in charge of your life?
  • Your motivation determines your success Your motivation determines your success
  • Why you should have strategies, not just goals and plans Why you should have strategies, not just goals and plans
  • How to choose goals: pick the right battles How to choose goals: pick the right battles
  • How to be happy? How stupid is this question? How to be happy? How stupid is this question?
  • How planning strengthens your habits for optimum performance How planning strengthens your habits for optimum performance
  • How thinking strategically changes your brain How thinking strategically changes your brain
  • Today Week Month All
  • How can I plan if I don’t know the future? How can I plan if I don't know the future?
  • Why you shouldn’t have too many goals Why you shouldn't have too many goals
  • Letter to my future self Letter to my future self
  • Should I tell my dreams and plans to anyone? Should I tell my dreams and plans to anyone?
  • Who’s in charge of your life? Who's in charge of your life?
  • How to choose goals: pick the right battles How to choose goals: pick the right battles
  • The art of dream design: using project management in your personal life The art of dream design: using project management in your personal life
  • The impact of motivation on success The impact of motivation on success
  • The happiness obsession The happiness obsession
  • How to create my personal vision? How to create my personal vision?
Ajax spinner
Life is like sailing

Life is like sailing

Motivation determines success

Your motivation determines your success

New Year Fresh Start

How to have the best year of your life

Too many goals

Why you shouldn’t have too many goals

Time Goes By

And time goes by

Personal vision

How to create my personal vision?

Dream design

The art of dream design: using project management in your personal life

Letter to my future self

Letter to my future self

Topics

  • Behavior
  • Decision Making
  • Focus
  • Goal Setting
  • Habits
  • Life Plan
  • Mindset
  • Motivation
  • Personal Planning
  • Productivity
  • Purpose
  • Strategic Thinking
  • Strategy
  • Time Management
Start Planning Your Dreams:
FREE Newsletter subscription. One-click unsubscribe.
We hate spam as much as you do. You have our promise not to sell or share your email address.

Recent & Popular Articles

  • Popular
  • Latest
  • Today Week Month All
  • How can I plan if I don’t know the future? How can I plan if I don't know the future?
  • Why you shouldn’t have too many goals Why you shouldn't have too many goals
  • Letter to my future self Letter to my future self
  • Should I tell my dreams and plans to anyone? Should I tell my dreams and plans to anyone?
  • Who’s in charge of your life? Who's in charge of your life?
  • How to choose goals: pick the right battles How to choose goals: pick the right battles
  • How can I plan if I don’t know the future? How can I plan if I don’t know the future?
  • Why resilience is the real secret to happiness Why resilience is the real secret to happiness
  • The art of dream design: using project management in your personal life The art of dream design: using project management in your personal life
  • Who’s in charge of your life? Who’s in charge of your life?
  • Your motivation determines your success Your motivation determines your success
  • Why you should have strategies, not just goals and plans Why you should have strategies, not just goals and plans
Ajax spinner

Which topics would you like to read more here? Select all you like.

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Follow us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • RSS
  • Twitter

RESOURCES | TERMS & CONDITIONS | PRIVACY POLICY | AFFILIATE DISCLOSURE | ABOUT US | CONTACT US



Copyright © 2006 - 2022 · Strategic Dreams - All Rights Reserved

No part of this website or the content on it may be reproduced without full attribution.