Living (and loving) Life
We all have hopes, aspirations and most of all, dreams – things we want to experience and accomplish in life. In other words, a ‘bucket list’.
Some dreams are big, like taking a cross-country road trip or winning the lottery. Others are more subtle goals like wanting to bowl a perfect game or completing a tandem sky-dive jump.
What’s on your own personal bucket list? Are they things that simply require blind luck or are they dreams that can be turned into reality simply by making it happen?
Sure, you may think there’s nothing “simple” about running the Boston Marathon, but people do it every year; people who once had little to no athletic prowess before focusing and training for this goal.
Most dreams require opening your heart to the possibilities, envisioning yourself exactly where you want to be and then taking steps, however small, toward the finish line.
So what holds so many people back? Here are some thoughts on that…
1 – Fear
Well into adulthood we’re all still secretly afraid of being the last ones picked for kickball. No one wants to be mocked and ridiculed, so if your dream as a big burly dude is to learn how to do ballroom dancing you might fear voicing that, let alone ever actually doing it. But here’s the deal: people who pine for experiences and don’t go for them often become bitter dried-up humans. And that’s just the truth.
Fear also comes into play in other ways. Like what if you apply yourself and aim for this goal, achieve it and then find it wasn’t all you had hoped? Or maybe you set out and you don’t make it to the finish line at all.
Well, the good news is that even if you feel a sense of letdown because it’s over and it didn’t play out the way you had hoped, the joy truly is in the journey. And there is nothing wrong with going back at it again, wiser and stronger.
2 – Life Obligations
“But I’ve got kids… Work takes up all my time…” For every excuse you make there are several someones on the planet proving it can be done. For example…
Runners without legs are winning marathons.
Deaf musicians are making incredibly beautiful music.
Moms are writing world-renowned bestsellers that become a phenomena of film, theme parks and more.
In regards to that last point, author J.K. Rowling was so broke when she wrote the first Harry Potter story that she had to find a cafe that would let her sit for hours with the one espresso she could afford. She wrote for hours while her newborn slept beside her.
Truth be told, Rowling was extremely depressed at the time but she is now responsible for creating the world’s best-selling series of all time – not to mention one of the wealthiest individuals on Earth.
I said all of the above to say this: If the items on your bucket list really mean something to you you’ll likely be able to find ways to make them happen. The key is to get started working towards your goals as soon as possible, right now being the best time of all.
3 – Just remember that some goals are easier than others to accomplish
When tackling your bucket list try to go back and forth between big, long-range goals and smaller, more easily attainable ones. That way your successes will help you feel confident and fuel you on to your next goal.
Discovering what you’re made of is one of the greatest reasons for living. Seeing that mountain, whether literal or figurative, and then saying “I can do that – maybe not yet, but I can put in the requisite work now to get it done in the future.”
Life is not a dress rehearsal. Get started working towards your goals today and you just might end up surprising yourself (as well as the people around you).