Navigating in the Storm

What to do during a storm? When do you know you are paddling against the tide? How do you know which way to go? How do you know when to "pivoting" your business, your life?

Moments where you fight, fight, fight and nothing moves, or even seems to "go backwards", are moments where we must stop and reflect on whether we should continue paddling against the tide, or in the middle of the storm, or if it is time to stop or seek a new direction.

If you have a well-defined purpose, then it is advisable to take a “strategic withdrawal”, step back to assess your strengths, your resources, and the best way to achieve your goals, and then achieve what you want. This requires a lot of balance, self-control, self-knowledge, and the understanding of the environment in which you are inserted.

Sailing on the river is also like that. He who knows the banks, the river draft, and the boat he is on, goes ahead guiding the way so that the boat does not run aground, so that he can continue on his way without any accident. And when the path is not known, the captain of the boat must plan his trip using maps, weather information, equipment, all with great care and diligence. The trip can be exceptionally smooth, or an unexpected storm can come even with all the care taken. And this is where you must make decisions, decide whether to anchor in a safe place and wait for it to pass, or to continue and run the risk of arriving or sinking.

My uncle Ivan had a boat, the Orca. Many years ago, he took us for a weekend trip to the Anavilhanas, a river archipelago located 9 hours by boat from Manaus, in the Upper Rio Negro in the Amazon. The boat took our families, all accommodated in cabins and hammocks. Our children, youth, and adults, all in the competent hands of the captain of the boat, my uncle. Sailing back to Manaus, the sky darkened completely, becoming like a dark night, and a storm reached us. I remember going to the bow, in the cockpit, to observe. My uncle was with his eldest son, and the two of them cautiously piloted the boat through paths, which were not necessarily a straight line ... and my uncle said to me: I have to come this way, because right there, pointing to the waters from the river, we can run aground. How could he know? It was dark and you could only see water, and part of the shore ... But, because he had been sailing there since he was a child with his father, he had learned the way he should go. And so, in the middle of the tropical rain, we arrived safely at our destination, as the captain of the boat knew its resources, its limits, and its path.

Well ... and how do I deal with my storm?

First of all, seek help from those who have already walked the path, those who know the path, or those who have the map! This is the famous “mentoring”. Look for a mentor to face the storm, or the “banzeiro” in your work, in your business, or in your life. A therapist can also help a lot to deal with your emotions in the storm.

Begin to seek knowledge about yourself. Who am I, why do I do this, or why I react this way or that way. How do I get out of this imbroglio - understand how you got there and what strategies you need to not only leave, but to change the route towards the success you want in the various areas of your life. And finally, take action! Draw an action plan clearly determining your objective, and strategies for navigating consistently, persistently. Taking care to change the route when necessary.

There are tools for that, and people who have walked this path before, and can help you! As Thiago de Mello, an Amazonian poet, said, “I don't have a new path. What I have new is a way of walking”.

Do you feel you would do with some Mentoring in your life? Click on the link below and book a free session to tell me more about it https://www.monicasweeney.com.au/book-online

Monica Rodrigues Sweeney has a Bachelor in Social Communication from ESPM-SP, she is a Master Coach and Mentor, Accredited Consultant of Behavioural Analysis EDISC and FinxS, with Master certification in NLP and Conscious Hypnosis, member of the AANLP Australian Association of NLP, the American Board of Hypnosis, and the Australian & New Zealand Mental Health Association, with over 30 years of Corporate and Entrepreneurship experience.

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