Cruisers Who Fail...

[Ocean Girl]

Canuk, if you finish that book, I'll buy it. Great post, and happy dreams to you.
Erika

[Alaska JD]

Canuk1955 I love your post. You stated very well a premise I've tried several times to get across on this thread, "getting blocked in the pursuit of at dream is not failure, it is only learning one avenue that doesn't work". I too am a therapist and regularly help my clients understand that truth. There really is no such thing as failure unless the roadblock failed teach the reason for why something didn't work. My term for my clients when they are blocked and know what happened is "successful failure". They love it. We get to laugh about the wonderfully educational opportunities of failing successfully.

I particularly liked your distincition between "dreams" and "fantasy". It's easy to give up on fantasies, but dreams are enduring and wonderfully educational.

Thanks for coming up on this thread.

john

[rustypirate]

I just finished reading the book "Ice Bird" by David Lewis about his solo attempt at circumnavigating Antartica.

His attempt was doomed almost from the beginning as his son lost his initial boat only months before he was due to set out. This, along with numerous other setbacks never diminshed his drive to go on.

If you read this account, he talks at great lenght about the desapir he felt while in the midst of gales, and ice, but never once did he quit, and he never let anything stop him from doing everything he could to carry on, including frostbite in his hands.

He was dismasted twice, rolled three times, and lost two sets of liferafts and self steering gear.

Much of his troubles he admits were amplified by both improper preparation and poor judgement, but he prevailed.

In the end, he wound up cutting the journey short of a full circumnavigation, ending in Cape Town, but that was due to more practical reasons, rather than just a lack of drive to carry on.

[canuck1955]

Rustypirate:

Sounds like a great book. He felt he 'needed' (dreamt) to circumnavigate Antarctica He did what he could. He did his part to the best of his ability. He faced his dragon and slayed it. Plan the action, but not the outcome!

*** dreamed, dreamt
***slayed, slew

"Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment." - Jim Horning

[tanksalot]

Steve Jobs wrote a book, "The Journey is the Reward", and I believe that principle applies perfectly to this thread. Most people pursue a goal because the actual pursuit of the goal is enjoyable, fulfilling and rewarding. The rebuilding of a vessel is often a labor of love, not necessarily a critical step towards a specific goal. The reward in the boat rebuilding is the satisfaction with the repaired woodwork/engine/whatever, the sense of accomplishment, and sense of self-worth that comes with most success. To apply the term "failure" to the pursuit of cruising is somewhat inappropriate, in my opinion.

In my mind, "cruising" is the enjoyment of being at sea or visiting multiple ports, wandering as one's spirit, weather, and personal circumstances dictate. The "point" of cruising is not to arrive at a destination, but to enjoy the trip. Just like life.

I would guess few cruisers who are feeling fulfilled and satisfied WHILE cruising "fail" due to other circumstances. Most find (just in my opinion) that some aspect of the experience is not what they had anticipated, find the negative aspects of their cruising experience to outweigh the attractive aspects that they had looked forward to, and change their mind. To call that a "failure" is to misstate the entire purpose of the experience.

I've found myself totally comfortable working on my boat, and becoming concerned that my "projects" were going to supersede the intent of having the boat in the first place. So that would bring up the question "what would be the problem if it did?". If the pursuit of a dream, or the preparation for that pursuit, is a satisfying, enjoyable and fulfilling experience, why stop? If the actual "cruising" that would result from completion of the project is not all that one expected it to be, then it could be said that by finishing the "pursuit" and cruising, the person "failed".

The biggest failure is not trying, and the second biggest failure is continuing despite the realization that the experience was not what you wanted, and not valuing the quality of your life enough to admit the new reality and stop.

[Alaska JD]

Originally Posted by tanksalot

The biggest failure is not trying, and the second biggest failure is continuing despite the realization that the experience was not what you wanted, and not valuing the quality of your life enough to admit the new reality and stop.

Very well state - I completely agree.