“The time to act is now. The time to come alive is now. The time to begin turning your dreams into reality is now. There is, after all, no other time available to you but now.” ~kenwert
Most of us have unfulfilled dreams. We impotently fantasize about doing something or going somewhere or becoming someone. Our dreams remain merely dreams that eventually turn into the sting of regret.
Why?
Why do we long for something and then deny ourselves the thing our hearts and souls long to do or see or become?
You don’t have to Eat the Whole Elephant in One Bite
Even if the passion that stirs your soul lies beyond what you are prepared or able to do right now, there are steps, half-way kinds of activities and bottom-rung-of-ladder actions that can prepare you and take you closer to your heart’s desire.
We all have these bucket lists, hopes of one day doing what we’ve longed to do and for one reason or another have put it off. Some things need to be put off. Marathons should be trained for. Performing surgery should be delayed until there’s a pretty good shot at keeping the patient alive on the operating table.
But at other times, we put things off for unworthy reasons, out of fear or laziness or habit. We long for something but never take the requisite steps to get the thing we long for. We dream, but leave the dreams dangling in our thoughts as disembodies what-ifs.
Fear of Failure
But life was never meant to be dreamed. That’s why dreams happen when we’re sleeping. In the bright light of day, we’re supposed to be passionately engaged in making our dreams real, giving them shape and form.
The fear of failing may be so grippingly powerful that you have decided not to try. But here’s the rub: If you try and fail, you will have failed.
But if you never try for fear of failing, the failure is guaranteed. You may worry that your self-esteem can’t handle the failure. But can it handle the surrender? What does that do to your esteem?
Who do you respect more, after all? The person who never tries, who never ventures out, who plays it so safe that he never risks anything? Or the person who gives it all she has and falls short? You already know the answer to this, right?
The Challenge!
So today, I challenge you to do something you’ve always wanted to do. Or learn something you’ve wanted to learn. Or go somewhere you yearn to go. A talent you wish you had. A skill you want to develop. A hobby you want to pursue.
But don’t wait. Start today. Not next year or next week or in a couple days. Tomorrow. At the latest.
Commit to it. Tell others you’ll be doing it. Think big. Be bold. Don’t shrink. Get started. Take action. Now! No excuses.
Don’t wait for your friends to agree or your spouse to plan the trip for you or the kids to be enthusiastic about it. Just do it.
A Good Excuse is Still an Excuse!
Be responsible and respectful of those your decision may affect, of course, but don’t let the same old tired excuses for flaccid living in the tepid waters of the status quo keep you laying on your back waiting for life to happen to you for even a second longer.
Give no excuses. Accept no excuses. No bemoaning the work or the resistance or the trouble it will take to do the thing you’ve committed yourself to doing. Decide once and for all that you will finally breathe life into your dreams.
Be Bold But Wise
Note that I’m not suggesting you will become an Olympian or CEO or a master or guru or billionaire. You may never be very good at what you decide today to do. But you will do it. No later than tomorrow.
I’m also not suggesting you cash out your retirement or recklessly invest in a poorly thought-out plan. But start something. Somewhere. At some level.
Move it or Lose it!
The purpose of this particular challenge is to get you moving, shaking off the cobwebs, taking action. It’s to flex your decision-making muscles.
Here’s the simple formula: Decide. Do. Repeat.
Refuse to be that person who reads yet another article, nods your head in agreement, then clicks to the next article on the next blog and goes on with life as it’s always been.
Afterthoughts
So what are you going to do today?
Is there something you’ve always wanted to learn? Do? Write? Paint? Sing? Fix? Play? Cook? Sew? Invent? Experience?
Perhaps you’ve always longed to build a life-sized LEGO dining room table. Or start scrapbooking. Or play tennis. Start a vegetable garden.
Have you always wanted to learn to play an instrument or sing or dance? Make a call and schedule a lesson. Buy a guitar. Borrow a banjo. Rent a tuba. Check out an instructional DVD from the library or YouTube it. Whatever. Just do it. Take action now.
Want to learn a martial art? Check the phone book for a studio near you. See if the local community center offers inexpensive lessons. Check the internet for ways you can learn some of the fundamentals on your own. Make an appointment with your doctor for a physical if your health makes that a prudent first step.
There are always intermediary steps you can take. Just stop waiting for the steps to be taken for you. The life you want is “out there.” So stop waiting for the life you want to come knocking. It won’t. It lives at the end of a road called hard work at the intersection of persistence.
YOUR TURN!
Commit to one thing you will begin today. Let me know what it is in the comments and I’ll ask you about it the next day.
Hmm…have to keep my new adventure a bit under wraps for the time being. But I am definitely working on this – how bizarre that this is your topic/challenge. Or…maybe just one more push in the right direction.
Lisa recently posted … Ten Things to Smile About
You piqued my curiosity about your upcoming adventure, Lisa. But glad to be “one more push in the right direction” for you! It’s so easy to sit on ideas and dreams and aspirations. No effort. No failure. No persistence. No change. But the world is shaped by those who get up and do something about the ideas they have. Life is changed internally too by people pursuing their dreams, living their passion, even if it doesn’t pan out the way they hoped. So keep at it, Lisa! And let me know what the adventure is so we can all jump aboard!
My sister in-law recommended your site to me. She says she knows you. Alyssa Brunner now Takahashi. Anyway….I love the idea of incremental success. Failure often comes from biting off more of the elephant than can be chewed. I have had many a failure come my way because I felt like it had to be all or nothing. I also felt like I couldn’t give up, even when I needed to walk away and reevaluate, so I could find a new way to try again. I hung on way to long and by the time I let go was afraid to try again. I am learning to let go and I will accept your challenge. I will start tomorrow. I may not be a roaring success but like you said I will do it.
I wrote a post this week on letting go. http://mylifeunpinned.com/horns-or-tail-which-do-you-grab
Welcome to M2bH, Keiko! I’m so glad you were introduced. I absolutely love Alyssa. I taught her early morning seminary, once upon a time. I miss her dry wit!
Failure is really just a mindset. When we define life (consciously or subconsciously) as win-lose, it’s easy to fall into the failure trap. If I didn’t win, after all, of course I lost. And what is someone who loses? Why, a failure, of course!
Long ago, I heard a story of a man who lost a company something like $20 million. Knowing what what was going to inevitably happen, he went to the president of the company and offered him his resignation letter. They president looked at the letter, then said, “You mean we just spent $20 million on your education and you’re going to quit us now?” A very wise president, don’t you think?
Success is a mindset too. We all know Thomas Edison’s famous line when questioned about his yet-again failed attempt to invent the light bulb: “I didn’t fail. I just found 2,000 ways how not to make the light bulb; I only need to find one way to make it work.”
One mindset lends itself to feelings of failure. The other to the incremental approach, that life is an experiment to be practiced, worked with, to learn from. It’s wisdom to recognize when to walk away from a goal because it doesn’t suit you. I like to think of those things I tried and didn’t “succeed” at as stepping stones along the path I’m living. I don’t always see where the path is going, but I trust I’ve learned something helpful or experienced something useful or built something in me in the process of pursuing the goal that I no longer need to build and can use sometime in the future as I pursue a goal more in tune with what I want to accomplish.
Have fun with the challenge and let me know how you do! Thanks for stopping by, Keiko. Hope to “see” you around.
Dreams become regrets when they became unsuccessful. To prevent this you should have 3D i.d Determination Discipline & Dedication. Discipline determines your dedication.
I like your 3D equation, Thames! Determine to accomplish your goal. Be dedicated to it. And exercise the discipline to go out every day and consistently work at making the dream real. Nicely said, Thames! Thanks for the contribution!
Good old “Taking Action”
I hate pretending or hoping!!
thanks for the tips
sw
steve werner recently posted … Competing Mentalities: Scarcity & Abundance
I’m 42 and have many regrets over things that I could have done in my past but I haven’t. It feels so unbelievable to be living a life now of far less regret.
Erin Henry recently posted … Reviving Your Real Self