You know, everyone always talks about ‘the other side of the sea’ like it’s some magical place, some far-off land where everything’s different, or better. For the longest time, I had my own ‘sea’ that I was just too chicken to cross. It wasn’t a real ocean, mind you, but it felt just as big and scary.
That Big Ol’ ‘Sea’ I Kept Staring At
For me, this ‘sea’ was this massive project I’d been putting off. Not work stuff, something more personal. Something I knew I should do, needed to do, but every time I thought about starting, I’d just feel this wave of ‘ugh, too much effort.’ I’d picture this perfect outcome on the other side, this ideal situation, and then I’d look at the sheer amount of paddling it would take to get there, and I’d just… nope. Not today. I built it up in my head as this monumental task, almost impossible.
I’d spend ages thinking about it, planning it in my head, sometimes even talking about doing it. But actually doing it? That was a whole other story. It was easier to just stay on my side of the shore, where things were familiar, even if they weren’t great.
One Day, I Just Grabbed the Oars
Then, one day, I don’t know what clicked. Maybe I just got sick of my own excuses. I woke up and thought, “That’s it. I’m doing this. Today.” No more overthinking, no more grand plans for the ‘perfect’ journey. I just decided to start, to dip a toe in that water I was so afraid of.
So, I began. And let me tell you, it wasn’t some glorious voyage with trumpets and cheering. It was messy. It was awkward. My first few attempts were clumsy. I didn’t have a fancy map or a high-tech boat. I just had a vague idea of the direction and a whole lot of ‘well, here goes nothing.’
- I broke the massive ‘sea’ into tiny little puddles. Seriously, super small steps.
- Some days, I’d make good progress, felt like I was really sailing.
- Other days, I felt like I was paddling in circles, or even going backward. I wanted to just turn around and swim back to my comfy, familiar shore.
- I didn’t follow some guru’s 10-step plan. I just did what felt right, one little action after another. Sometimes I’d just sit and stare at the next step for a while before I could make myself do it.
It was slow. Oh man, was it slow. And there were definitely moments I thought, “This is pointless. Why am I even bothering?” But I just kept telling myself, “One more stroke. Just one more.”
So, What Was on ‘The Other Side’?
Eventually, after a lot of paddling, a lot of huffing and puffing, I reached it. I got to ‘the other side of the sea.’ And you know what I found?
It wasn’t some mythical paradise. It wasn’t drastically different from where I started, not in the way I’d daydreamed. The world didn’t suddenly turn into sunshine and rainbows. The project was done, yeah, and that was a relief. There was a sense of accomplishment, sure.
But the real discovery, the actual ‘treasure’ on that other side, wasn’t the finished thing itself. It was the knowing that I could cross that sea. That the huge, terrifying ocean I’d imagined was, in reality, just a series of small waves I could handle one at a time. The biggest monster was the one I’d built in my own head.
The ‘other side’ wasn’t so much a place, but a feeling. A feeling of, “Huh, I did that. I actually did that.” It was the quiet confidence that came from facing something daunting and seeing it through, my own way, mistakes and all.
So now, when I see a new ‘sea’ looming, it doesn’t look quite as big anymore. I know it’s just water. And I know I can paddle.
