A nudge.
I sat down in my banquet chair, smiling and laughing. The crew of Pure Joy had just returned to our table after receiving our certificate and we were already applauding, whooping and hollering in support of the next boat (in alphabetical order) to receive theirs.
While that crew paused at the front of the room for their photos, jokes and laughter, I glanced down at the page of cardstock in my hands. It read:
This is to certify that PURE JOY Crossed the Pacific Ocean with World ARC 2025-26.
Below those words was a long, squiggly line that stretched clear across the landscape document. All along it, dots were labeled from left to right: Panama, Galapagos Islands, Hiva Oa, Tonga, Fiji, Port Vila, Mackay, just to name a few.
The picture on that certificate told me that not only had we crossed the largest Ocean on planet Earth, but also that we were officially half-way around the world from where we started. We had sailed to AUSTRALIA. In our BOAT. Just David, Elliot and I, and our beloved crew mates along the way.
Now, you’d think that fact would be really obvious to me. After all, I’d been there for every single one of the 10,331 nautical miles sailed. All 99 days at sea. In fact, when we we’d reached Australia 5 days earlier, we’d toasted to that fact.
But since that joyful ‘CHEERS!’, we’d all been busy preparing the boat and ourselves for the legs ahead. Everything from cleaning, provisioning and route-planning, to sight-seeing, shoe-shopping, haircutting and socialising had taken priority since that initial celebration.
So, it wasn’t until I held that piece of paper in my hands and looked at the squiggly line printed upon it that I truly understood the accomplishment.
Tears pricked at my eyes and my heart swelled just a little. This reaction caught me by surprise, in a really warm and pleasant way.
I gently elbowed David, nodded at the certificate and said, kind of confused, ‘Can you believe this?’
He smiled and stared down at it, and then back at me in equal disbelief. ‘Yeah…it’s crazy, right?’
I’ve been reflecting on this ever since, and it really makes me laugh to realise that it took a piece of cardstock printed with a squiggly line - a squiggly line that I knew every mile of deeply and personally - for me to recognise how far we’d come. But then again, I wasn’t surprised. Because I know from experience - my own and those of coaching countless leaders - that when we are in the thick of it (or even when we’ve ‘completed’ it!), recognising how far we’ve come is pretty much the last thing on our minds.
This is all to say, I’m not always great at taking my own leadership coaching medicine. But, I’ll give myself credit for this: it was clear to me in that moment that this was a nudge from the universe to properly reflect on my progress and accomplishments this year.
A few days later, I got out the ‘Wins & Lessons Tracker’ worksheets that I’d printed out at the beginning of the year. Now it was August, and I winced to find that I’d trailed off in terms of filling it in, back in April. So, I spent an hour or so going back through my calendar, my journal, my photos and even a few poignant voice notes to/from my friends, so that I could jog my memory and fill in the gaps.
Sure enough, my accomplishments surprised me, even though they were mine! Here are the highlights from my list:
10,331 miles sailed, 99 days at sea, crossed the Pacific Ocean. (a.k.a. We’re DOING the thing we dreamed about and talked about for so long!)
Improved my sailing knowledge, skillset and confidence A LOT. (I never would have given myself credit for this if I didn’t force myself to think about how clueless and scared I was to carry out routine tasks back in January.)
Documented the trip through photos and writing. I’m doing this for me and my family, but I’m warmed by the stories of how sharing our journey has touched the lives of others.
I can now do 8 consecutive push-ups!
I’m learning to tune in and tell the important difference between feeling fear and feeling unsafe.
I made peace with the ‘hardness’ of this journey. It is what it is, and besides, there is so much magic to be found there.
I’ve made hard calls that weren’t popular and had hard conversations that moved us forward.
I homeschooled Elliot for 8 months then put myself out of a job with a crew member who has actual teaching qualifications!
And I’ll add just one more as I’m writing now: I refocused on THE GAIN.
In case you haven’t been here long, I’ll explain that last one. We as humans (and especially so as humans who grew up in traditional schooling systems and learned about leadership in corporate settings) are conditioned to focus a LOT on the GAP that exists between where we are now and where we want to be. To be conscious and critical of the difference that exists between who we are now and a future, more ideal version of ourselves. And goals are great - they give us direction and can sometimes be motivating, so it makes a lot of sense to focus there.
But where do we find the energy, confidence and momentum we need in order to move towards those goals? We find THAT in The Gain. In the practice of looking back and measuring ourselves against FORMER versions of ourselves. In the space where we can appreciate how much we have accomplished and grown.
(Credit: The Gap and The Gain by Dan Sullivan, 2020)
In the days following catching up on the worksheets, I found the confidence to start a BIG project that I’d been putting off for AGES. One could call that a coincidence, but I don’t really believe in those. What if I hadn’t given myself the boost that came with reflecting back? Would that project be still sitting dormant in a corner of my brain? I’m certain of it.
My point is this: We’ll constantly and naturally feel pulled to measure The Gap. My bet is that if you are the type of person to subscribe to a newsletter about leadership development, you’ll never need a reminder to do that.
But to measure The Gain? You’ll probably need a nudge, just like I did. Feel free to consider this yours.
CURIOSITY PROMPTS
Remembering and giving yourself credit for your accomplishments and lessons learned is easier said than done. We’re all programmed to believe that it’s more important to focus on The Gap than The Gain. And so we end up missing out on SO MUCH that The Gain has to offer. That’s why I created the Wins & Lessons Tracker. You can download your own copy by clicking the button below.
BONUS CONTENT
If you want to follow our trip around the world or catch up on the latest places we’ve visited, head over to Instagram and check out the Highlights on our profile. ( @sailingpurejoy ). And feel free to subscribe to the Sailing Pure Joy newsletter as well!
WRITE YOUR NEXT CHAPTER
My work as a Leadership Coach continues from the high seas! If you are thinking about how to write your next chapter, feel free to check out ways to partner with me HERE.
In all curiousness,
Joy
P.S. If/when the spirit ever moves you or you have questions - always feel free to get in touch and let me know what’s coming up for you!
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