All In

When I lived on a boat for half a year back in 2003, I met oodles of fascinating people. I noticed a trend. Many people had an established land life they put on hold for a time – rented out the house, put things in storage, etc. – fully planning to pick up where they left off after a sailing sabbatical of some duration, often predetermined. Others had sold the house, purged belongings, and were living on their boats indefinitely. I didn’t think too much much of one approach or the other at first, but I started to notice something. Those that had sold the house and went all in had a different perspective. They were not tooling around in their boat as a break from real life. This was real life. They embraced each day more fully and there wasn’t a home they kept in the back of their mind they were going to return to. The boat was their house. The decisions they made reflected a mentality that they weren’t playing around – they were all in.

We sold our house two days ago. The boat will be our only home. How will that impact our approach to life? It’s too early to tell for sure, but I hope it gives us the freedom to embrace the experience as fully as possible. Perhaps selling the house makes us that much more committed to it.

It’s exciting for this adventure to finally get started. It’s also terrifying. It’s not just me this time around. I’m uprooting our kids from the only house/school/church/neighborhood they’ve ever known. I’m abandoning a fulfilling career during my prime earning years. I’m telling my wife “Trust me… it’ll be great!” There are countless ways we’re getting pushed out of our comfort zone.

The house was one of my mental safety nets. No more. It’s the right decision. We’re all in.