tell me, when did you let your dreams die? what moment were you in, when you decided, your wants and expectations for yourself, was never going to happen?
Never. I equate that to quitting. I believe some dreams are just procrastinating.
I never let my dreams die. Even if I was 80 years old and hadn't accomplished my dreams yet I'd still believe it was right around the corner.
Nothing has died ,I’m just content and don’t feel like I need to keep looking for the next big thing . It’s nice to relax and enjoy what you have and appreciate things . Smell the flowers and such .
Running into a job and relationship rut has made me feel like my dreams were dead. High value employers didn't believe in me, women didn't believe in me, why should I believe in me? I was so depressed.
Decided to go back to school and get some modern skills through an engineering degree. Now I'm on my way to climbing the financial ladder. Hooray
I acknowledge each perspective here. I ask because the realization dawned on me, gratitude is almost the purest sounding word. Its difficult to appreciate the moments in my experience- struggling to just BE; here and now.
@sunnysideup that is awesome- the season of life we're all living for- Knowing when and what to do.
I missed that chapter in my book. I constantly grow/evolve, as do my wants and dreams. Things happen, or don’t happen, for a reason. I don’t always know the reason, but that’s ok.
@cocoabomb : i hear you! likewise. I too am a very deep thinker, or over-thinker- reflecting on what could have been better in interactions/experiences, therefore continuously evolving however, what happened if you got stuck? You put your all and nothing came of it. Has that ever happened? How did/are you find/ing the path that truly pa(ys)id off?
@katykat2 i try not to focus on visions of splendor or dreams of extravagance anymore. Right now I just focus on what I have and try to be content with what I have. It’s easy to get disappointed when you want more so much but I am learning to be happy with what I have.
@katykat2 My life isn’t a path, it’s a robust 4 lane highway during rush hour. Lots of exits. Lots of road construction. Lots of stop and go traffic. Sometimes I get off at the wrong exit. That takes me a different way. Unexpected experiences and people. My life has been enriched with more knowledge and memories. So maybe it wasn’t “wrong.” Lots of possibilities. I like adventures.
I like these deep-thought questions! 😊 Life is an interesting thing. When it comes to things like pursuing one's dreams or sitting them aside, there are few things we have to think about: How important is the dream? Are we sure we want it? And is it worth the cost?
Maybe I had a dream as a teenager that I was going to marry a beautiful Hollywood actress and we'd live happily ever after. Was it an attainable goal? Of course. There's an old wise saying, "There is nothing on earth that you cannot have once you have mentally accepted the fact that you can have it." (Robert Collier). And this, generally speaking, is true. If a person is willing to pay the piper and accept the cost, they can do it. A teenager could go to acting school, become famous, meet the star of their dreams, and marry them. Or become a millionairre through some other means and meet them that way. But would it be worth all that effort? And let's say I won them over with my natural charm and charisma.😆 Once I married them, I'd realize they put their pants on one leg at a time just like I do. There are a lot of things we think we want in life but that if we got them, it wouldn't be as good as advertised. Or maybe it would be, but it wouldn't be good for us. Or maybe it's just not worth the price we'd have to pay to attain it. Or the other dreams we'd have to sacrifice to attain a specific dream. Life is made of a thousand choices and a myriad of dreams. It's up to us to decide which are worth the effort.
There's also a balance to be found in balancing "now" and "then." We don't want to live in the future always waiting for that next bigger and better opportunity. Life can pass a person by really fast that way. It's nice to stop and smell the roses and enjoy the present. Now will never come again. But we also don't want to spend our lives watching others live theirs. We should seize each day and make the most of it. Life's a precious gift and we shouldn't squander opportunities to achieve more and to better ourselves. An epic quote from the book "Who Not How" by Dan Sullivan goes like this: “The definition of hell is: Your last day on Earth, the person you became meets the person you could have become.” If we can find that sweet balance between enjoying today and striving for a better tomorrow, that's a dandy way to live!
@pmvines sounds like you've made it in life, I feel like I've forgotten what a flower smells like
@cocoabomb Did you make that up or is that a published poem? that was really nice.
@KingsportCuddle Well said. Incredible actually. Have you considered motivational speaking, coaching, counseling, training or writing? Everything you said made sense. I too understand that things are attainable, at a cost- a sacrifice. however, what parts of ourself do we lose, outgrow, evolve, or reject in order to become compatible with our idols? The past few years, I've been eagerly wanting to change my personality- goofy, undisciplined to someone disciplined, refined etc.. I dont know who it is I'm changing for, but its an urge. My hell on earth is comfort- familiarity. Some thrive and others rebuke familiarity.
Which one are you?
@cocoabomb And a highway we ride
@Minestrone101 thank you. I wrote it. It’s not borrowed or stolen. It wasn’t meant to be a poem.
@katykat2 I like that.
@cocoabomb It was very lyrical - it had strong imagery and ties in the modern with the timeless. I give it two thumbs up 👍👍. If you hadn't already, you should consider writing!
Thanks @katykat2 🙂 I do enjoy writing and I get a chance to work with some youth groups now and again. I think you hit the nail on the head when you said, "what parts of ourself do we lose, outgrow, evolve, or reject in order to become compatible with our idols?" Sometimes we get forced to choose between multiple dreams that are incompatible. A good example we see often is romantic relationships. Maybe two high school sweethearts decide to go to the same college even though one of them might have gone somewhere else otherwise. So the dream of "happily ever after" with the person they love outweighs their career-oriented dreams and ambitions. And sometimes, a person decides to break up with someone who they love but they want different things out of life (one wants kids and the other doesn't or one wants to travel the world and the other wants to settle down and be comfy).
I love the "definition of Hell" quote. But as with most things, there is a flip side. That quote could also be the definition of Heaven. If I was headed down a dark, troubled life path and then managed to turn things around, the "me" I became may be far better than the "me" I could have become along a different road. "Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." (Robert Frost)
Ah, comfort. It's a double-edged sword. It's definitely not bad in and of itself. There are people fighting overseas right now (Russia vs. Ukraine, Israel vs. Hamas, and so on) who would give nearly anything to enjoy a sense of comfort and familiarity right now. Comfort can be very good, as long as it doesn't lead to complacency. The hardest thing in the world is saying, "I'm happy with who I am and what I've accomplished" and "now it's time to scale some new heights in pursuit of my 'higher self'" and both to be true at the same time.
Good luck, best wishes, and happy cuddles! 🤗 I've leave you with this quote by Mark Twain, "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why."