When I was young, I desperately wanted to be an astronaut and meet an alien. It seems a little ridiculous now that I think about it—I mean, back then I was like, 2ft tall with a fishbowl over my head, and no conception of the real world, but at least I had dreams. Now I’m 25 with no fishbowl and no dreams, and all because I have to pay the bills. Responsibilities, eh? No one told me about those when I was pretending to go to space in a cardboard box. Maybe I would have made alternate plans—hit the books a little more often.
It makes me laugh when I think back to all the things I wanted to do “when I grew up”. I had so many dreams for myself—dreams that I set aside to make way for “real life” and a “real career”, and the sad part is, I know that I’m not alone on this one. So how did we let this happen? When did “pursuing a career” mean letting go of what you wanted to become? Why aren’t we living the life we want to live while still paying the bills?
My reason is fear. I am afraid that if I go for what I want, I won’t be able to maintain the comfortable lifestyle I live now. I fear the unexpected, the possibility of failure, and the reality that maybe I’m not good enough—and when you put all those things together, well, it’s enough to make you think twice.
But what would happen if we let go of the fear—if we believed in ourselves for long enough to take a chance on our dreams? Maybe we’d discover things we never thought we could do, make our own opportunities instead of waiting for them to come to us, find the life that WE want to live instead of the life society has chosen for us. Maybe we’d become something phenomenal.
Because that dream–we all have it, we all want it, and we all know that living that dream would make our lives happier, and if the only thing standing between you and your dream is fear–well, it just doesn’t seem worth it to be afraid.
Are you doing what you really want in life? And if not, why not? And if you are, well, we want to hear about it!
I’m not doing what I want to do just yet….but I’m getting there
slowly!! I wish someone had told me that there isn’t a magix fairy who
just gives you all your hearts desires though…or that maybe life came
with a road map…like a real one, not just an imaginary one!
I’m very proud of you already. Just so you know
Every day challenges and responsibilities often make it difficult to stay on course, and developing goals. Most people don’t even bother to set goals. We often live on autopilot, and don’t realize how the years slip by. Your readers might want to look into a program that I am following. It helps me focus on my goals, but it is still difficult, and sometimes feels impossible to reach your larger goals in life. I persevere and keep at it.
What program are you following? Maybe you could share it with us!
I have this same issue. My career has become all I focus on and think about (especially now with the economy) and it’s just because of fear. I’ve been working really diligently though, to get out of my comfort zone and pursue other passions.
It’s nice to know other people have the same issues. Thanks for being honest and sharing.
The third paragraph? Yep. Nailed it…. thanks for posting this!
[...] people prefer to honor the tradition and grow up with the dream of being daddy’s little girl who gets the wedding of her dreams. Others like to be more modern [...]