The Sailboat metaphor is a way to look at your life to clarify how things are going. It’s a tool articulated by a psychologist named Hugo Alberts and can be found in more detail at positivespychology.com
Here’s the gist of it:
You use the sailboat to describe yourself and your life or your project, etc. Is your boat moving or still or even leaking? What’s the top priority on your boat right now? What does your boat look like?
Think about the following aspects:
- Water: represents your environment. You need it to sail.
- Steering Wheel: needs, values, and direction
- Destination: goals
- Leak: weakness
- Sails: strengths, resources
- Compass: intuition, feelings, emotions
- Weather: uncontrollable circumstances
- Other Boats: other people
Using the sailboat metaphor can be a helpful way to gain insight and allows you to look at things in a way that might make you feel less vulnerable.