When I started kayaking, one of the first things my instructor told me about being on a river was to look where I wanted to go, not where I didn’t want to go.
Which makes sense, right? Focus on the path forward, not the obstacles.
I got on the river and up comes this huge rock. Do you know what happened?
That’s right.
I couldn’t keep my eyes off the rock. I hit it, get turned sideways and flipped upside down in about two seconds. Face to face with the fishes.
Which was, in hindsight, very important lesson for life.
Often we focus so much on what could go wrong in the attempt to avoid messing up and being a failure. But like me looking at the rock, that’s exactly where we end up.
The attempt to avoid crashing and burning is often the very mechanism that means you do.
Or, we’re so paralysed by all the rocks – by the voice of doubt that says we can’t – we never get on the river in the first place; we never embark on the projects and plans that are really important to us.
Now, with anything it’s important to get a sense of what might go wrong.
But after that you need to focus on where you want to go. Give the potential rocks zero attention. Focus on where you are going and don’t listen to the doubts saying you can’t.
Keep your eyes on the prize.
(And get back in your kayak if you fall out.)