So far in this unplanned ship series we’ve discussed geting to know you’re journey’s end throughly, getting to know your crew and making sure they are stable in their own ships, and recognizing and prioritizing your own ships needs. So what happens when you start on a journey expecting to be prepared for whatever weather your journey brings and suddenly you're faced with an invasion of energy pirates, or a depression wave you're by far not equipped to handle?
The very first thing you need to do, in my not professional opinion, is to stop everything, take a deep breath and fully evaluate the situation. It’s important to process all emotions that come up, because acting out of emotions very rarely turns out with the outcome you actually want. The next step is to make the decision if the situation is something that can be handled while still in the water, or if your ship needs to return to the harbor and restock. Keep in mind that neither option is wrong and you shouldn’t feel bad if you need to go back to safety and re-start after some recovery time.
Choppy waters in life can be anything from quitting a fast early in a weight loss journey, getting hit with unexpected bills on a financial journey, being overcome with a wave of depression in a mental journey, or losing your temper in an emotional journey. Whatever the choppy waters are, and whatever reaction you take is NOT the end of the journey. It just might mean you need to go back and re-prepare and start again.
The other danger that you have to be careful of is Energy Pirates. These are the people that drain your energy, sometimes without you even knowing it. Sometimes they arrive on their own ship, flying giant red flags, and we overlook the flags and decide to allow them access to our energy supply, and sometimes they come in the shape of a crewmate who is trying to help you but it’s really for selfish reasons. Either way they come you have to be prepared to handle them appropriately. Now I can’t tell you how to handle all of them, because each one is different and sometimes even they don’t realize they are energy sucking individuals. My best recomendation is to sit down and talk with them, explain your core values and boundaries on your ship and find out their intention. Go with your gut here, literally. Listen as they talk and pay attention to how they make you feel. Do you feel trusting that they are being truthful in their admission of wanting to help you and really don’t understand their actions are draining you? Do you feel sick to your stomach like you’re being lied to but secretly only voice that you trust them? Or do you feel unsure. No matter how you feel, act accordingly and set the boundaries.
When an energy pirate has been notified that they are sucking the energy from your ship you need to proceed with caution and be strong when it comes time to face them doing it again. In this new era of my life I give everyone exactly 2 chances, the first one I address verbally by telling them, such as when someone constantly turns conversations into just themselves and goes months without asking how my ship is doing, and the next time it happens I cut all access to my ship and the plans for where it is heading. This second step doesn’t really come with any verbal notification, I just put their messages in the archives and move on.
If the energy vampire turns out to be a very close crew mate, such as a family member, you have to understand that it’s going to be harder and it will hurt. And most likely it’ll hurt you far more than it hurts them, but this is where we get selfish. YOUR ship is priority, just as theirs should be to them. If they can’t add to your journey, they don’t deserve to be there when you reach that beautiful vacation destination of success. And you have to make sure you’re mentally prepared for this as well as understand you can’t lead your ship while you’re grieving so it’ll be necessary for you to take extra action to keep your cups filled.
With that being said we have reached the end of my impromptu “Ship” Series, and although I’m positive these topics will continue to come up (I mean come on the journey is never really over, well until we are floating at the bottom of the ocean), but after this blog we will go back to the randomness that I call my life.
Let me know if you have any topic suggestions or ideas for upcoming blogs! As we gain momentum and followers I want to stay aligned with what my crew is hoping for from me and my writings….
Until next time… ~Stay Humble, Stay Hydrated~
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