How Deep Is Your Rudder?

Published August 27th, 2007 by Adam Kayce | 11 Comments

How’s your sense of purpose? Do you feel as if you live and work by a clear set of values, principles, and autonomous choices? Or, do you sometimes feel as if you’re living someone else’s life, basing your choices on factors that someone else decided were the important ones?

I talk to a lot of people who feel adrift, without a sense of real purpose in their lives. Like a ship without a rudder.

If you’re “setting your sails” by paying attention only to external factors (what other people say about you, by the job you have, by whatever is happening to you in the moment), then you’ve got a very short rudder. It’s short because it doesn’t have much, if any, connection to what’s authentic inside of you.

Boats with short rudders get knocked around pretty easily.

If, however, you have a clear sense of purpose — you know what’s important to you, what you’re aiming at in life, and the kind of person you are when you strip away all the titles, belongings, and personality stuff — then you’re aware of what makes you tick, what brings you joy, and what’s authentically important to you. You’re living a life driven by a clear sense of internal purpose, and that creates a stabilizing effect in your life… just like a long, deep rudder does for a boat.

Boats with long rudders stay steady and on course much easier, even when the winds kick up, and storms threaten to capsize them.

Purpose isn’t fluffy. It isn’t some “feel-good” fad. It’s a way of framing the search that has captivated humankind for millennia; the soul-search for meaning, identity, and that which adds lasting, deep value to our work and our lives.

One place to start in your own search is to ask yourself: Am I living my own life? Am I making choices based on what’s alive inside of me? Am I charting my own course, or unconsciously letting someone else decide for me?

How deep is your rudder?

Image by Peter Gene on Flickr, via Creative Commons license.

And thanks to all those who commented on the previous post: Jean Browman, Joann Loos, MichelleVan, Auto Parts for Brains, Priscilla Palmer, Craig Harper, WaterLearner, Judy Murdoch

11 Comments... Want To Jump In?

  • Jean Browman--Cheerful Monk
    August 27, 2007, 12:02 pm

    Great topic, Adam. It’s one of my favorites.

    I explored this idea at Happiness, The Purpose of Life? (http://cheerfulmonk.com/2007/08/06/happiness-the-purpose-of-life/) and It’s a Magical World (http://cheerfulmonk.com/2007/08/13/its-a-magical-world/) at CheerfulMonk.com. Waking Up to Life (http://stresstopower.com/blog/2007/08/26/stepping-out-of-our-trances/) and The Greatest Teachers (http://stresstopower.com/blog/2007/08/05/the-greatest-teachers/) at StressToPower.com/blog are also related. Clearly this topic is worth a few posts. Thanks. :)

  • Jean Browman--Cheerful Monk
    August 27, 2007, 12:13 pm

    I just gave this post a thumbs up at StumbleUpon.

    Another relevant post is Loving Imperfection (http://cheerfulmonk.com/2007/08/27/loving-imperfection/). There’s a great Flickr picture of a woman radiating her joy to the world.

  • David Rogers
    August 27, 2007, 5:53 pm

    People have underlying values and beliefs that govern their behaviour; these develop and get shaped by family, peers, experiences, etc. But most of the time people are not conscious of them, and many never challenge their own values and beliefs. Likewise, perhaps the majority, don’t plan or make goals - let alone consider a sense of purpose. They deal with life on a day to day basis (with no keel let alone rudder!), not recognising it doesn’t have to be this way.

  • Karin H.
    August 28, 2007, 3:56 am

    Hi Adam

    I like the analogy you make. Who wants to be adrift in life, career, purpose?
    A little ‘coasting’ isn’t bad during the voyage - sometimes even enjoyable -, but in the end you do need to find/reach that port/landing place ;-)
    Karin H.

  • Joanna Young
    August 28, 2007, 5:15 pm

    Hi Adam, I like the analogy too. It reminded me of some darker days (now long gone, thankfully)when I tried to find pictures to express the way that I was feeling: they were of a boat cast adrift on rough seas, huge crashing waves threatening to engulf, envelop, overwhelm…

    Finding a rudder is part of the journey - as is charting your course (sometimes?) - though like Karin I too find there are times when it’s sweet just to drift, softly, slowly and see where the breeze takes us…

    Jumping back to earth for a moment (I was drifting off!) I’m interested in your thoughts on authenticity and what we mean by authentic here - going to be exploring this in the context of writing with authenticity in the next month so might come back to this post for further exploration then. Joanna

  • Adam Kayce
    August 28, 2007, 9:13 pm

    Jean, thanks for the Stumble — those are always appreciated!

    David, so true, so true.

    Karin, thanks; and yes, there sure is a difference in the experience of drifting vs. coasting, isn’t there?

    Joanna, by “authenticity” in this case I mean being true to your feelings, especially the deepest ones you are aware of.

    To continue the ocean metaphor, think of currents in the sea, and how you can find multiple layers of currents stacked on top of each other.

    You can follow the surface/superficial currents (the fleeting, easily influenceable whims), or you follow the deeper currents (the yearnings of your soul, the longings that compel your heart to act in accordance with that which brings you the most fulfillment and joy).

    Being authentic is about honoring your soul’s currents; “marching to the beat of your own drum”, so to speak.

  • WaterLearner
    August 28, 2007, 9:57 pm

    Hi!

    Another great post! What a good analogy to guide one to comtemplate on how deep is my rudder!

    LIVING LIFE WITH A PURPOSE is a much talked-about topic but difficult to put to practice. We have too much distractions from the world we live in .. call it the power or karma of Media!

    Thanks for this good post. It guides one to sit down to think where one’s life is heading. Like I always said. Climb your ladder conscientiously. But take breaks to check that your ladder is leaning against the right wall!!

    Blessings! WaterLearner

  • Joanna Young
    August 29, 2007, 2:33 am

    Thanks Adam. I like the way of thinking about it in layers - it reflects what I’m thinking about writing with authenticity too.

    Sometimes we write from the surface layer, and that’s still us, and perfectly fine, and sometimes we write from the deeper currents and that’s - well that’s totally different. Your reader knows it, and so do you… Joanna

  • Alvin
    September 10, 2007, 3:18 am

    I completely agree Adam! This is one lesson I had to learn the hard way.

    After being buffered and strewn by some stormy bits of life, I realized the only real way to measure my own happiness was to know my true purpose and path despite anybody else’s attempts to steer me off course, and to measure my growth according to that inner rudder.