In our land life, we always knew what "needed to be done", and there were always schedules and plans. Even though there were always surprises and upheavals, the routine would eventually return, and it was clear where we were headed and how.
I loved the routine, the security of the long term, the certainty.
Then we changed everything and moved to a boat.
In our sea life, we live in constant uncertainty. We have a general direction with milestones we want to achieve or see and a general plan for how to do it, but we live with the understanding that everything can change immediately.
There's no longer a certainty, especially not about dates.
There's no longer a long-term, just one season ahead and, at most, a look to the horizon of the next season.
There are no longer promises, only a general plan and backup plans.
And me? I've realized over time that managing my life now is more akin to how I learned to work after years in startups. I started in my personal life to step back from rigid plans, set goals, and stay agile—to learn quickly and change things on the fly.
The first time I understood that this is what's needed now was the scariest of all - there's a boat, there's a date, and we need to jump into a new life that I can't even imagine how it will be.
From there, it became a bit more familiar, and we can say that we got used to living in uncertainty—about times and anchorages. We even managed to explain to family and friends why it's hard to commit to being in a specific place at a specific time.
So how does it work? I'll try to explain.
👣 The first step is to understand the goal. There are many talks, digging, frustration, and then suddenly, an "aha moment."
👣 The second step is to understand what blocks and stops us, and it's a frustrating step because suddenly everything seems impossible.
👣 The third step is to understand how we will do it, and it ends in a burst of energy and a feeling that it's about to happen.
👣 The fourth step is to understand what could go wrong and prepare a backup plan. This is the most important step because you will probably need at least one backup plan, and it's also the most annoying because you were in the momentum of starting to work.
👣 The fifth step is getting into the details - tasks that must be done to advance matters and a project plan.
👣 The sixth step is to solve problems when stuck - if not this way, then how? Or what needs to change in the goal?
For example (in a nutshell) -
👣 It took us years to understand that our goal was to set out on a journey on a boat.
The main barriers are a boat and work.
👣 How to do it was simple - buy a boat and start working online as self-employed digital nomads.
👣 The risks only increased as we got closer and included what if we regret it? What if we don't make money?
👣 We then built a project plan of moving to the boat
👣 We needed to use some second plans like the boat model, where it was located, and even work.
Almost every part of our journey involves these steps, and they help us cope with uncertainty - the move, the work, the studies, the trips home, the plans for each season.
And I won't lie- there are very stressful days, but resilience in the face of uncertainty is a muscle that needs to be developed.
How do you cope with uncertainty?
Want me to elaborate more on each of the steps? Write in the comments!
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