What is Next? Beyond the Goal.

What happens when you reach your goal? While many Transition Your Life readers may not see the end or their destination at hand, I think discussing how one faces or handles this is of some importance.

When you reach your goal,  this is definitely when we need to first celebrate and savor in the moment of glory. This is something we should not miss.

Secondly, we need to appreciate what we or others did to help make the goal achievable. Very few journeys are journeys of one.  Sometimes upon reflection we realize others helped shape us and made contributions in ways we could not imagine. This might be the high school teacher, the motivational speaker, the neighbor down the road who always gave you a smile. 

Thirdly , once the momentum of arrival and completion has slowed, I believe we need to ask ourselves some questions relating to the accomplishment of the goal. Making an immediate evaluation of what we have done has some value, but when the goal or achievement is monumental, I think taking a few weeks to ponder this might be the best choice.

• Is your achievement as you expected?
• What lessons did you learn?
• What if anything would you do different?
• What in this specific achievement might be the lesson that is the first step on the next journey?
• Who else might you thank?
• Is there anyone who might be encouraged or educated, who is working towards similar goals?

Today the 1000 day sea project reaches it's destination. While the journey has been unique and offbeat, this might be a good a perfect timely example of how one needs to handle an achievement.

Do More than Expected

Sometimes doing more is a great way to get ahead. Sometimes life throws you a curve and you end up doing more. Sometimes more is just fun.

Why do more?

• Because you can
• Because it is a challenge to yourself. 
• It may be an opportunity to excel 
• It may make it better. 

Take some time to think about how you can do more.

One Thousand Days at Sea is now at eleven hundred days at sea - more has been done.

Stay tuned for a post on When Doing Less is Best.

1000 Days at Sea - An Adventure for All

I have been enjoying the adventures of the 1000 Days at Sea Team ever since July of 2007. That was about Day 80 or so days into the ocean going adventure that officially began Day one leaving New York Harbor in April 23,2007.

The premise of this extended ocean journey has been to circumnavigate the globe on a boat (A 70 foot schooner) without stopping, restocking or resupplying for a thousand days. It has been a life long ambition of sailor Reid Stowe.

While this journey like many,  hasn't quite turned out as expected,it has been an adventure non-the-less with lots of interesting twists and turns of events. The schooner is now expected to return to New York in June of 2010.

What I have liked is watching the path of the Schooner Anne on Google Earth, discovering weather overlays and exploring surrounding land areas I had no real knowledge of before. In the early days, photos of the adventure were posted by Soanya. It was amazing to see how many shades of blue there were. When Soanya left the journey (about day 300) the photos were still posted but not with her practiced eye. Reid, however soon filled in the space with his art and interesting stories and reflections.

Recently, the several times weekly posts have decreased due to computer problems. Regardless, it is always interesting to read the updates and check out the Schooner Anne's position on Google Earth.

By following and understanding the components of an adventure that is not our, it can suddenly seem to become partly our own life and experiences. It can be a great break in our day to follow an epic journey or a time period progression (see The Uniform Project). It can be a window into a world that we never knew existed. It can be the catalyst for our own future adventures.

 
Other post on the Transition Your Life Blog about 1000 Days at Seas Adventure

900 Days at Sea 
Take A Desk Vacation
Seek to Enjoy All Things
600 Days at Sea
300 Days at Sea
Remote Island...Very Remote 

900 Days at Sea

Do you ever feel you are adrift in the ocean of your life? Sometimes when we get lulled in the complacency of everyday waves of life we lose sight of where we are headed. We are usually most often adrift when we are out of touch with who we are and where we are going.

Going out drifting can be unwise if we do not have a map or a chart. Sure, we can enjoy a few days of "just being" but if we venture into waters unknown we can be pushed upon the rocks and shoals of life.

To get redirected and back on course, we need to stop and take careful inventory. The four questions we need to begin asking is:

Who are we?

What have we to give?

Where shall we spend our days upon this planet?

Who would be good and interesting passengers on our boat of life?

For the last 900 days, a sailor has been on an ocean voyage without resupplying or stopping.The original destination day 1000 - However the planned return to New York harbor in April of 2010 may be extended a few more weeks or months due to winter weather. It has been fun being a visitor to the 1000 day at sea blog and tracking this unique and interesting journey.

If you like to read and want to take another sea journey you can read the classic book Sailing Alone Around the World by Joshua Slocum.

Take A Desk Vacation

No time for a real vacation this month? If you want to go on Desk Vacation without leaving your desk - Here is a next to perfect strategy.

First, clear your desk, and empty your email box. Let your phone go to voice mail. Turn off the cell phone. - get ready to go.

Now the reward:

Each of these blogs provide great photos and reader story experiences. The way they are written makes you feel part of their environment.


Scotland - Claire's Garden
Alaska - Living in Tok, Alaska
Greece - Santorini
At Sea - 1000 days at sea

Do you have any other recommendations?

Seek to Enjoy all Things

Seek to enjoy all things, rather than possess all things. This may be a derivative of Franciscan beliefs regarding poverty and possessions.

During this economic climate, the philosophy above may be a way to survive and thrive.

Imagine seeing things differently: collecting and enjoying what you have around you.

I have just started to follow the blog - "Ernie Tuck". Professor Ernest Tuck of Colorado, USA doesn't seek to collect things, rather he collects ideas. In recent times, he has collected the concept of the sensation of wind, the number four and common experience.

Another blog that seems to bring this concept to reality is 1000 days at sea, now celebrating 700 days at sea without resupplying or restocking. This trip shows that one can make do with what one has around them.

What things are you collecting without having to have in your physical possession?

Swimming in the Deep End

Yes, it is winter here in the northern hemisphere, but something struck me as being relevant. Swimming in the deep end.

Years ago when I was in my teens, my family and I went for a sail in Long Island Sound with some family friends. I had years of practice swimming off various beaches and in a variety of swimming pools, but I had never been really been over my head. When we sailed, we were invited to go swimming. "Jump in" they said, and so I did. It wasn't but a few seconds till I realized, it was likely that I could not touch the bottom.

When we go out and do something different, we often experience that moment of being over our head. We feel unsure and nervous, but if we do some of the things we already know, we get through it.

Change is certainly like that.

600 Days at Sea

The last time I posted about the 1000 days at sea adventure was on day 300. Now over 600 days have passed. A lot has changed, and some things have not.

Soanya has departed and given birth to a son, so the adventure is now a solo trip with Reid sailing on alone.

Reid posts on the 1000 days website quite regularly with interesting tales, daily pondering and photos of the schooner, the seas, occasional birds and fish.

I still follow the sail path using Google Earth and go on mini geographic searches of the current area.

There is a lot to learn from the perspective of people who do things differently. Even when things don't have to be done, it can be amazing what can simply be learned from those who undertake the unnecessary, the unfathomable adventure.

Three Hundred Days at Sea

The 1000 days at sea team are just at 300 days. Three hundred days without touching land that is. For me following this adventure daily is a great break and has given me all types of new insights without leaving my workstation.

For instance; I have become a real fan of Google Earth. I have explored places I had no knowledge before such as Gough Island and Ile de Amsterdam. Since Google Earth allows weather overlays, I have begun to observe weather patterns around the Southern Ocean and am looking out for cyclones forming in the Indian ocean. I've also begun to watch the monsoons off of Australia.


The digital photos on the 1000 days site allow me to view the ocean's various colors, see unfamiliar water birds and learn about the different parts of a 70 foot schooner.


I certainly respect the teamwork this project has involved and althought I would never think to step out of my comfort zone for such a long time I admire the tenacity and spirit of Reid and Sonya.

Remote Island ... Very Remote

It seems to me when we are going through the passage of change, we often want to run away. Run away to somewhere remote.

A month back I was catching up with family friends and was told about the remote Island of St. Helena. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Helena#Tristan_da_Cunha. One of their daughters has had a government assignment there for several years. This island is only accessible by boat at this time and it takes about five days to get there. There is however another short cut (if you can arrange it - it is very complicated) and that is to fly to Ascension Island and then take a 2 day boat trip from there.

It was interesting to visit Google Earth and locate both islands. St. Helena of course was the 2nd and final place Napoleon was exiled to. Look in the South Atlantic. Happy searching.

This of course led me to other pondering and I came across the 1000 day sail - maybe the most intentionally planned remote sail. See their web blog at http://1000daysatsea.blogspot.com