“That’s what I want to be when I grow up!” said one of my friends over lunch last week. And, it’s not the first time she or I have said this. Every weekday afternoon we all gather in the lunchroom where the discussion often turns to what we dream about doing with our lives. Whether it’s opening a gift shop, writing a book or taking a photography class, these ideas are contemplated and discussed. In our sixty minute escape from the daily grind we imagine our wildest dreams over a cold turkey sandwich. Afterward, we neatly tuck our dreams back into our lunchboxes and head back to work.
So, how do we make the leap from these “lunchmeat-sandwich-dreams” to a bold new reality? How do we make the shift from everyday living to really living every day?
What’s your Why?
I believe it starts with discovering the “why” behind your dreams. What is the driving factor behind what you want to do? Why is this dream important to you? Asking yourself these important questions will give you the fuel you need to move forward. When you can connect your feelings (your why) with your dreams, you create intention. Intention is our commitment to carrying out a future action. We are moved into action by our convictions and our “why” in life. Our ideas alone are not enough to carry us forward.
Small Steps.
Start by doing a small part of the thing you think you want to do. Write a blog. Sell on the internet. Take photographs on the weekends. Too often we make the mistake of believing that we have to give up everything, quit our jobs and become financially dependent on our new venture. We make the process so complicated that we give up before we even try. Just starting the process will create the “snowball effect”, each small step building upon itself, becoming larger and gaining momentum along the way.
Be Happy.
Be happy where you are, right now! This might seem hard to do at first but it starts with gratitude. Be thankful for what you have. Take time each morning to remind yourself of all the good things in your life. We spend a lot of time chasing things. “I’ll be happy when I lose ten pounds or get that promotion.” The truth is that even when you attain one of these things, there is always something else to chase. You already possess everything you need to have joy in your life today.
Give it Time!
Ok, I hear the groaning out there already! I hear you saying, “But that will take forever!” Listen, small steps are better than no steps at all. Small steps will allow you to truly find what you love. The American author, Earl Nightingale, said, “Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.”
Yeah, this is a hard one for me. I wish I was born knowing what I wanted to be when I grew up, but unfortunately, I wasn’t. I’m that person that doesn’t know what she wants to do or be…at 54 for crying out loud!!
For MANY years, and still today, I’ve said, “I want to do this or I want to learn to do that” and I end up doing NOTHING. Reasons for that would be because of being afraid that I want succeed OR, I don’t know where to start OR, the ambition to take the first step OR, I won’t make enough money. And then the last part of this is, “Ang, what do you really want to do?”
I can actually see me doing something meaningful, but here I am typing this comment with just a vision of what is it that I need to be doing?? That’s the million dollar question.
Therefore, for now, I stay in my comfort zone, because it’s what I know and what I’m good at.
I’m hopeful that SOON it will come to me just what I should be doing.
Thanks Barb for your blog.