Set your sails for the wind you have, not what you wish you had nor what you think is coming soon.

This sounds good–and achievable–however it is surprisingly easy to ignore this good advice.

The wind was howling and blowing like mad, so much so that we’d tied the mainsail down at the 2nd reef, the jib was tied to the bowsprit netting, the foresail secured and only the tiny staysail left unreefed.  In the black of the night along a hostile coastline with high winds and seas, we’d acted prudently, yes.  Now, as the sun rose over the land and we headed onwards, the winds calmed.  The sea state rolled but the wind was no longer there, only a tiny zephyr remained–teasing us.  I though, oh, the winds will return.  Surely.  As we rolled uncomfortably side-to-side and only creeping along, the reefed sail not doing much to dampen the roll of the sea, I was reminded of a chapter in Bob Griffith’s book Blue Water where he discussed this very thing:  Sail with the wind you have now–not that wind you had a little bit ago nor what you think is coming soon!

And that day, like other days, we shook out the reefs and raised more sail to capture the available wind. Not the wind we wanted, nor what we thought was coming–we were working with what we had.  The rest of the trip, we worked with what we had–sometimes barely a wisp and sometimes almost a gale.  Putting in reefs and shaking them out–that’s what we sailors do, right?

Everything in life really works the same way.  I’ve collected a small cache of quotes to remind me to simply get on with things! “Do not wait for ideal circumstances, nor for the best opportunities; they will never come” said Sister Janet Erskine Stuart, a 19th Century nun and educator.  At the start of the year, I placed one of my favorite quotes by Pete Goss at the head of our blog page “If you are going to do something, do it now. Tomorrow is too late.”

Even with such reminders all around me, I find myself in a constant inner battle–conflicted about the right time and way to do something, the right task even, and the right opportunity.  My desire to not waste resources on a poorly timed endeavor will all-too-often prevent me from even starting on the path towards achieving a goal.  From varnishing Mahdee’s brightwork to achieving business and career goals, I can immobilize myself with doubts quicker than I can take a breath to sternly tell myself to get over it and do the task at hand!

This year, I’m daily reminding myself each time I hesitate on something–Do it, don’t wait, do it NOW.