Nothing like a good storm.

Dead tired, worn out, stretched out thin. Or just “wired and tired”. We have all been there, especially towards the end of the week. Or even just a miserable long Tuesday that doesn’t seem to come to an end. For years, when I never really got tired, I always thought of it as “an admirable state”. But my mind has changed on that.

Over the years I have become much more even keeled. And to some degree with this mental image that I always have in the back of my mind of “being on ship in a mighty storm” is key to that. When I’m out on the deck it’s all hard work, everything just needs to be done. But then I retreat to my cabin (on the ship!) and all of a sudden everything is gone. It’s like taking a side-step, to take a breath and to reconnect.

I tried different mental images but they never really work quite the same. An oil platform entirely misses that notion of moving from a to b. An apartment in a massive skyscraper misses this as well. And so does a cabin in the woods, at least as a mental image to retreat to while a storm is raging.

What I like about being out on the deck is that it’s a high-stakes situation. A few wrong steps and you’re in the water. Decisions need to be made quickly, meaning that the stress is on. And that’s why I discovered over the years that you never really know yourself until you’re in a high-stress situation.

What I also like about “a ship in a storm” is that it implies that it’s a relative short duration. The high stress and high stakes require enormous effort, with potentially huge outcomes. But it also implies that it’s a short duration. And for me this is a key component: when the time is right, I will thrive in such situations. But that’s not all the time. Because a storm means more “reacting” than “acting”, and I much rather play my games from an “acting”-point.

And that’s the thing with storms in general. If it’s a good one, you will remember fragments, and most of all how it felt, who you were there with and what went on. That’s why your ability to stand your ground under such stress is a very powerful way to build your confidence and self-image. Because storms are so rare, the way that you act in a ship on a storm stands out more, because it is even more rare.

Then maybe the mental image of “a ship in a storm” is also a way to prepare yourself for your finest hour. The saying goes that most men are not well prepared when that time comes, and maybe this mental image can also be your way to be ten steps ahead of everyone else. So consider “a ship in a storm”, carry it around with you for a while, and just see what happens. 

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