#8. An Anchor In A Storm.
It dawned on me this morning that anchoring something can be powerful, queue the boat analogy.
But there is more to it than that. Since October last year, I have been the most focused on my mission ever.
In hindsight, I probably wasn’t quite drifting, maybe taking the strain of dragging the anchor.
I found a small bay (my garage) and enjoyed the view. More importantly, I slowed down deliberately to understand where I wanted to go next.
It has been a profound experience where the anchor was a deliberate act to stop the drift and focus on what is most important. In that process, I realised that other anchors were stopping me from progressing.
My ego, business structure, and habits were all anchors to moving forward.
But in that stopping, I found the positive attributes of having something to anchor my energy, thinking and actions against.
The unbelievable benefit of this is the time and mental capacity you free up. In triathlon, we talk about training hard so we can race easily; it feels a bit like that.
Because I have my mission clear, I can anchor decisions off of that every moment of every day.
Want to know how I got to this place?
1. I stopped and took a breath. I told my wife I needed time to reflect and plan the future. It was a team effort.
2. I found writing as a miracle medicine. I started to write over the past couple of years, but now it is central to me being happy and purposeful—a little bit every day.
3. I threw away 9–5 thinking. It’s a trap.
4. I am experimenting with deep work. Super focus on what needs doing. Then the play comes.
5. Small to-do lists, important to-do lists.
6. Add more things I WANT to do in my day. Walk the dogs. Read, stare into space, and work on my garden.
7. Less but better.
My anchors are no longer things that hold me back but the thing that holds me steady in a storm so I can keep progressing when it clears.
We all need something meaningful to hold onto, but is it right?
Until next time. Focus.
G
