Firstly, people don’t want to be seen as fools.
I mean no wants to be the social oddball who is seen as a dreamer. People think of themselves as dreamers, but they don’t want to be called one.
Being a dreamer makes you vulnerable all at once. Everyone comes to know what you’re up to – your plans, your tiny aspirations, and your intentions – There’s nowhere to hide.
When you fail, the world too finds out that you’ve failed and you might end up giving them a good reason to laugh. Or perhaps to pity you.
That’s the price of being a dreamer – it comes with a package of sacrifices, insecurities, miseries, and risks.
If you can afford to be a dreamer then it’s mostly because you’ve got the guts to lose. And somewhat because you’re crazy.
Can you be a dreamer?
Are you doing what you need in order to achieve your dreams? Something? Anything?
The smallest steps and every bit of effort you put in is worth it. It counts. Mostly because it means that you’ve started. And if you’ve got the courage to start, then it also means that you can go all along the way.
When you’re a dreamer, starting matters the most – it means your marathon has begun.
Did you start working on your dream?
Whatever it is – your dream – did you start working for it?
I’ll get to the point. Most people don’t ever start. Maybe you already know it too – they live, they die.
But the stories which happen in the middle matter the most. When you don’t follow your dreams, or when you don’t love your work, you have no stories to tell. Your life feels somewhat blank and you’re left to look back at the past.
Sure, you can get over what has already happened and wipe off your regrets, yet a part of you keeps wishing that you had done what you once wished to do.
Being a dreamer is more about doing what you set out to do than achieving what you try to get.
If you start a company and fail, you can still have the satisfaction of trying. If you don’t start one and grow old, you wonder why you hadn’t. The cost of not following dreams is higher than playing it safe.
Life’s such
It makes you reflect.
The random thoughts from the past, ambitions you once had and other events strike you out of thin air.
They all come back to you and tell you how you spent your life. If the stories you’ve lived are any good, you can laugh and feel content about taking your chances.
Dreams are a part of the stories you can feel grateful for. When you don’t act on your dreams, your life lacks some shades of colors you could’ve had on your part. That’s when you realize that you could’ve made your life more colorful.
Stop lying to yourself
We all have got a habit of pretending that everything’s going to be alright – this idea works.
But not when you’re lying to yourself. It’s like closing your eyes in the middle of a road and expecting that a car won’t hit you.
You just know that you’re lying to yourself but aren’t yet ready to accept it. It’s same in the case of following your passion or chasing your dream.
Either in form of some lies, excuses, justifications or some other practical reasons you convince yourself to not follow your dreams.
Although no one ever comes to know about your dreams, you know in your heart that you’ve failed. Because you never started.
Here’s a tip – start.
Doesn’t matter what follows you after that. If you’ve got the courage then dare to fail, risk it, lose something – your life will become a story worth telling. A life lived hustling is better than the ones spent being a coward and holding oneself back.
It’s time you stop thinking
The reason I’m writing this post is simple – to get you to start. I cannot assure your success, but I can assure you of the exhilarating satisfaction of following your dream.
I too could’ve been among those who didn’t start, but I’m not. I’m not great, but I’m trying. To me, trying is sometimes enough.
Trying is something we all can do, right? Trying means that you are playing your part. It shows that you’re honest to your work. And good things follow when you’re honest and hard-working.
Find something worth your efforts, give it whatever it takes, and see whether it works. Who knows, the outcome might be sweet and magical. But for that to happen you’ll have to start.
Here are some lies people tell themselves which don’t let them follow their dreams
‘Following dreams’ is just another overused phrase. I don’t even feel like using it. But then, I need to.
Below are some simple reasons why people don’t start. Some don’t start early. Rest don’t start ever.
What are the reasons? The reasons are simple and uncomplicated.
They’re all evident, right in front of you, but maybe you’re ignoring your instincts which keep telling you about them.
1. Hoping that the right time will come
Never.
To be honest, life remains ordinary. Same 24 hours, boring or busy. Each new day passes as the days which have already passed.
You do your chores, you plan for the future and wait for that opportunity when you’d be finally able to seize the moment and follow your dreams. But everything remains the same.
The sooner you stop believing this and start, the right things would start happening to you.
Don’t wait until your vacation to do something. Don’t wait for your retirement. Life never works that way.
Here’s an honest truth – you won’t do what you aren’t doing now even when you’ll finally have the time you’ve been waiting for.
Start now.
Start what? I don’t know. Perhaps, those things which make you think “I should be doing it because I love doing it,” or maybe that BIG plan have for your future in your head.
Do you have a dream? If yes, start taking little steps.
2. Finding the right thing to work at
Most people want it perfect – passion, dream – whatever you call it.
They want to figure out exactly what they should be doing. But they don’t. Because they don’t find their thing.
It isn’t that simple.
You do a lot of things in life.
Sometimes you choose a career you don’t like, study something completely unrelated to your goals, find a job you think you aren’t fit for – there’s a lot which is already confusing you.
Finding your dreams amid all this isn’t easy.
You only learn what’s right for you by engaging yourself in various activities and listening to your instincts. There comes a point when you realize “Ah! This is what I’ve been searching for.” Though it doesn’t happen immediately but gradually.
How would you know what your dream is unless you’re aren’t prepared to do something?
You don’t do things because you love doing them. At least, not when you start. In the beginning, you barely have any idea regarding what it is that you admire.
When you do more, you get to know yourself better, and finally, you fall in love with something. You find your passion.
3. Waiting for getting perfect
“I haven’t got what it takes,” is a feeling everyone goes through.
Though, what matters ultimately is not letting that feeling become an obstacle and starting anyway. You don’t do things because you’re perfect. Instead, you keep doing them until you become perfect.
Dare to be bad, have the guts to make mistakes, be wrong – the path which leads you to your successes is messy. Doubts and imperfections are an inseparable part of work. You only fear your imperfections until you try.
Once you try, you find that you aren’t as bad you thought you are. Your fears and doubts begin to vanish. You become calm and appreciate your potential.
You feel “I’m good enough,” instead of “I haven’t got what it takes.”
How do you know whether you something’s right for you or not? You do it. Regardless of whether you’re perfect or not.
4. Waiting for everything to be at peace
Life is full of chaos. It won’t give you a minute. You can only begin amid the chaos, otherwise, you keep waiting.
Your chances of starting remain questionable until you prepare yourself to deal with discomfort and decide to start anyhow. Ideal conditions, an absence of stress, and enough time – I wish we all could afford them.
We can’t.
Courage is not in starting amid the ideal conditions but in finding a way out to overcome the obstacles which stop you.
5. Not having enough resources
A million dollars in the bank, a network of some leaders ready to help you, some capital to give yourself some leverage – who doesn’t want it?
That’s what you think you need to start sometimes, right? Maybe you ask for something less or more. But let’s be honest – whom do we fool when we think of such fantasies? Probably ourselves.
The million dollars are out of reach right now, no one’s coming to help you out, and it’s your responsibility to carry out your dreams.
So what are you supposed to do?
As they say, start with whatever you have, with whatever you are. At least you’ll be able to pursue your journey, even if at a slower pace than you might have thought.
But here’s an assurance – everything gets better eventually.
Your struggles might stretch, you may need to work harder because don’t have what you needed, but as you keep progressing you also become capable of escaping your limitations.
If you aren’t ashamed to start small then you’ll actually start.
You may not be so great in the beginning, but what matters is that by starting small you set yourself on a path from where you can prosper.
6. Someday
You may have decided to start.
Though, not now. But someday.
When? What day?
What you can delay now can get delayed for years. The thing about dreams is that only you know what they are and it’s your responsibility to make them a reality. No one comes to tell you what to do.
You’re left on your own.
If you start, you can experience the joys and successes. After all, dreams only matter as much as you make them matter.
A final word – get over it
Maybe you aren’t flawless and still feel diffident. Be alright with it. Accept yourself.
You’re already good enough and you what you got to be doing. Everyone is. You realize your potential when your start. Already started something? Go all along.
Haven’t yet? You still have time, but be quick. Above all, don’t lie to yourself and dare to reflect on what your strengths, goals, and inspirations are. It’s an old method for making a rough plan.