The story begins with a man named Alex, a former sailor, on a 4-day voyage traveling from Georgia to Key West, Florida. Gazing across a clear blue ocean from the top deck of a Carnival Cruise Ship, Alex was getting board. He had been very excited to be on this cruise when it originally launched from its port in Georgia, but by this, the 3rd day, he’d gotten fatigued with the journey. He’d already seen the entertainment on board and done all of what he’d wished to do. So, standing on the top deck, he simply glanced across the miles and miles of crystal clear, turquoise Blue Ocean which surrounded the ship on all sides. The calm, lucid sheet of ocean water barely moved as the huge vessel burrowed its way through the sea on this very warm summer afternoon. And that’s when Alex noticed that the ship was moving rather slowly.
“Why would a ship this size move so slowly through an ocean which is relatively still?” He wondered to himself.
He began to feel that maybe there was a problem. So he immediately searched for a cruise employee to see if there was any reason to be alarmed. Before long he found one.
“Why is this ship going so slow?” he asked. “We’re barely crawling out her. I swear we would be there by now... Is there a problem?”
The cruise attendant was glad to respond,
“Well, Sir, we’ve got a long itinerary full of things that must take place during the course of this cruise. There’s much more entertainment on board; 4 more shows within the next day. Then there are vendors who’ve paid to come aboard and sell their products and paraphernalia; T-shirts, souvenirs, maps; all types of fun items to buy. Plus there are meals prepared; dinners arranged just waiting for your enjoyment including tonight’s big feast celebrating the last night of our journey”
The attendant continued,
“The truth is, Georgia is only 4 hours away from the Florida Keys. If we traveled at regular speed there wouldn’t be time to accomplish all that’s on the itinerary and people on all sides would be disappointed. That’s why we go so slowly. The ship is preprogrammed to turn a 4-hour journey into a 4-day cruise and that gives us time to completely execute our itinerary”
The point of this story is this: many of us set goals years ago which we’ve been traveling towards. Goals such as a college degree, a substantial weight lose, freedom from debt, a home business, raising successful kids…the list goes on and on. Well, most of us have been on this course for a very, very, very long time; in fact, most of us have pursued the same goals for our entire adult life. We’ve seen progress but most of us have not arrived at that place where we can finally rest. Needless to say, many of us are pretty fatigued with the journey and sometimes feel depressed and desperate for something new. So we reach this point in life where we look up towards heaven and say, “Why is this taking so long? Why does progress come so slowly? If I could go just a little faster I’d be there by now!”
The answer to this question is the same as the answer Alex received on his 4-day cruise. Your goals are actually right around the corner from where you are right now. But there are a lot of things that must to take place in your life before you arrive at that destination. There are adjustments you must make to your lifestyle. There are changes that must take hold. There are new behaviors that must be learned; old behaviors that must pass away. There are people who don’t support you who will leave your life and others how will support you that must enter. There are new lessons that you must learn, old memories you must forget and past hurts you must resolve. If you traveled at what ever speed you imagined years ago reaching your goal, there wouldn’t be time to accomplish any of those things which are necessary for you to make the objective you seek permanent. With out accomplishing your itinerary, you won’t be able to sustain the progress you’ve obtained and might eventually move backwards. You could end up back where you started only more disappointed, more depressed, and perhaps even suicidal.
So just remember that your goals are within reach, but the path to your destiny is sometimes gonna be slow. Loosing 70 pounds is just as attainable as loosing 7 or 107 pounds but, unfortunately, the road is going to be slow. Debt freedom is attainable, but it’s just a matter of time and that time will be slow. A successful business plan can be achieved, but most of the execution will be slow. Raising successful children will take a lot of attention and the results will be slow. That Bachelor’s or that Masters degree is going to happen slowly. That new job is sometimes gonna come slow. The path to home ownership is slow. The path to better relationships, especially a better marriage sometimes is just gonna be slow.
Don’t get fatigued and start gazing at the sea in hopelessness waiting to get off the boat. Instead, have confidence that your journey will eventually take you to somewhere that you really want to be. Have faith that what you endure on this extended voyage will be well worth it in the end. And all you really need to do is go back and enjoy the ride!
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