In the 1998 Sydney to Hobart “blue water classic” yacht race, 55 sailors were rescued, six lives and five boats were lost.
It was the most disastrous year in the race’s history.
In open ocean racing (and many other sports), there typically is a locked in start date.
In the Sydney to Hobart, they start on Boxing Day.
Almost regardless of the conditions, on this date, we begin.
As we see from 1998, in this kind of setting, there are occasionally some downside risks to setting the date.
We don’t really know what the weather will be like – and at the far end of the spectrum, this could have real consequences.
In almost all of the adventures in our life though, it’s the opposite. In any goal we have, or project we want to create, we fear a number of possible outcomes (what if it doesn’t work, what if they don’t like me, what if it works?), and thus, we often don’t set the dates.
This leaves us off the hook, we can stay in the shadows.
As long as we aren’t scheduling the Sydney to Hobart, in almost anything you want to, or with any goal you have, setting the start date is perhaps the most important step.
It brings us out into the open, it stops us from hiding.
Write out the thing that you want to do, and in big letters next to it, set the date.
