Don’t sink the boat when you lose hope.

Posted on by Dan Brown

2016-05-19-21-08-54-104734023

 

So….here goes!

Two weeks ago I went into work to be met with the news that a colleague of mine had decided to sink his boat.

It is not my place to analyse this particular situation, I did not know him well enough to pass comment in any way. All that matters now is that for whatever reason that became large above all others this gentleman decided to scuttle his boat.

I am in no position to judge in any way (neither are you by the way) me because I  have lived with that thought as the predominant one and you because you know even less than I do what was going on in his mind.

His is the extreme end of negative thoughts but many of us do the same thing in a multitude of other ways every day of our lives.

I have been playing solitaire a bit on my phone. I do it mostly at night time as I lie in bed to make my eyes sleepy and weary before saying goodnight to the day. Ten minutes is usually enough. It would be fair to say that I am not a dedicated player of this game, if it is not going well by 1 minute 30 the game is aborted.

I can usually tell by that point if there is any possibility of beating my highest score. This is the goal of me playing, my best score is 1 minute 20 so if the game isn’t complete by my cut off point it prompts a new deal.

For many this is the approach that is taken to much of life.

We have predetermined cut off point that we absolutely refuse to persevere beyond. The result of such thinking is that marriages are disposable if they don’t tick box a, b, and c. Jobs are thrown away because we bought into the lie that Confucious was correct when he decided, “find a job you love and you will never work another day in your life.”

I agree with the sentiments of his idea but the reality is that few of us will ever be able to fulfil this. We forget that he lived long before industrialisation and commercialism. It may have been simpler to achieve such things in his day before our expectations reached the dizzying heights of 21st century living.

A couple who had been married for 60 years were asked why they thought that their marriage had lasted so long. The answer was supremely simple and yet ultimately rejected by our culture, “we were born in a time where you fixed something if it was broken!”

I have known many people who seemed to press the self destruct button if things were going too well, or if it started to get difficult. I am not naive enough to think that it will always work out, people are not that straightforward.

My thought for today was sparked by Sia the Australian singer who updated the old song for the new Annie film.

Over the years I have known too many people who sunk their boat when hope evaporated. I  too have been tempted on too many occasions to do the same, fixing our vision to something tangible is the single most powerful method of overcoming this temptation.

We all need something to live for.

My family have kept all of the craziest thoughts at bay without even realizing it. Just by being themselves they were enough.

So my plea to you is just this, keep breathing, even if all that you do is float, at least you are above water.

Better days will come.

 

Previous Entries Special powers Next Entries Empowerment

21 thoughts on “Don’t sink the boat when you lose hope.”

  3. Shailendra Singh Sequoia India on said:

    I’ve been surfing online greater than three hours today,
    but I by no means found any interesting article like yours.
    It is beautiful worth enough for me. In my view, if all web owners and bloggers made good content as you probably
    did, the web will be much more useful than ever before.

  5. Sequoia Capital India Singh on said:

    Fantastic items from you, man. I’ve have in mind your stuff previous
    to and you’re just extremely magnificent. I really like what
    you’ve got right here, certainly like what you are stating and the best way through which you are saying it.

    You make it entertaining and you still care for to keep it wise.

    I cant wait to read much more from you. That is really a terrific web site.

  7. vitamin e lotion for scars on said:

    I’m curious to find out what blog platform you’re utilizing?
    I’m having some minor security problems with my latest site
    and I’d like to find something more risk-free. Do you have any suggestions?

  8. Ursula on said:

    Fantastic blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers?
    I’m planning to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything.
    Would you recommend starting with a free platform like WordPress or
    go for a paid option? There are so many options out
    there that I’m totally overwhelmed .. Any recommendations?

    Thanks!

  11. Beryl on said:

    What’s up Dear, are you really visiting this site regularly, if
    so after that you will without doubt obtain fastidious knowledge.

  13. http://bit.ly/2hBUZfm on said:

    Have you ever considered publishing an ebook or guest authoring on other websites?
    I have a blog centered on the same topics you discuss and would
    love to have you share some stories/information. I know my readers would
    value your work. If you are even remotely interested, feel free to shoot me an email.

  16. motivational tips on said:

    Hi there! This is my first visit to your blog! We are a collection of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community
    in the same niche. Your blog provided us useful information to work on. You have done a wonderful
    job!

  18. credit cards on said:

    Excellent blog here! Also your website loads up fast!
    What host are you using? Can I get your affiliate link to your host?

    I wish my website loaded up as quickly as yours lol

  19. cleaning sex toys on said:

    Great beat ! I wish to apprentice even as you amend your site, how can i
    subscribe for a weblog web site? The account helped me
    a appropriate deal. I have been tiny bit familiar
    of this your broadcast offered vibrant clear idea

  20. financial plan on said:

    I want to to thank you for this good read!!

    I definitely loved every little bit of it. I have got you book marked to check out new stuff you post…

  21. Emile on said:

    Hi there it’s me, I am also visiting this web page regularly, this site is really good
    and the viewers are actually sharing fastidious thoughts.

Comments are closed.