DARING TO LIVE OUT OUR DREAMS

We share much with others as we live life.  We share the things we do, the air we breathe and the places we visit.  We share our accomplishments (whether they bring us success or result in failure).  We share relationships and possessions.  We share our thoughts when we converse.  We share our families, our friends and our acquaintances.  We share (or should share) what we think, how we feel and what we hope to be within our relationships.  Sharing our workload and the results of our efforts has become the norm in business.  Working as teams to share tasks that magnify our individual contributions by blending them with the unique gifts others are given to accomplish collectively much more than could have been completed on our own has become the mantra of workplace efficiency.  With such an emphasis on sharing, however, what is truly “our own” in this life shared with others through common ground, shared existence and team-based accomplishments?  Perhaps we need to look no farther than our hopes and dreams – our aspirations...goals and wishes...to realize what makes us uniquely and individually different from those with whom we share so much of ourselves.

Dreams are thoughts not yet realized – aspirations not yet brought to fruition...the basis of our goals and the foundation of our good intentions.  We can live life without dreams but cannot embrace its full potential – become all that we can hope to be or realize all that we might wish to accomplish – without first thinking about what we want to become or what we desire to do within the lifetimes.  Those that perform to the standards and expectations of others often become great contributors as they add value to society.  Those that allow themselves time to identify their own aspirations within the safety of their dreams AND work towards bringing those thoughts to fruition WHILE benefiting the greater good by performing their daily and expected tasks will not only add value to society but also open new horizons and discover new paths that can serve as stepping stones to a new and unrestrained future.  To dream, however, we must be willing to move from the safety of our “present” into the unknown opportunities of a “future” that have yet to be fully realized.

Dreams are not the “substance” of life – they are the icing on life’s cake.  They are not the “why?” people often seek when confronted with an unknown or unanticipated situation – they are the “why not?” people accept as they roll with the punches life throws at them while moving continuously forward.  When we risk more than others think is wise expecting to accomplish more than others think possible it is often because we allow ourselves to dream more deeply than others might think practical.   It is only then that we might realize our hopes and aspirations are more important than walking lockstep within the expectations of others.

While we share much in life with others, we rarely share more than the things we are able to easily do or accomplish.  We are hesitant to share our fears – or to open ourselves to the possibility of failure in the eyes of those we work with, talk to or confide in.  If we were to share our dreams with others – to both seek their assistance in accomplishing them AND to hold us accountable in bringing them to fruition – imagine how much we might expect to realize.  When we settle for those things, thoughts and actions that come to us easily we become “adequately mediocre.”  Seek to achieve excellence...to attain personal satisfaction...by dreaming of all you could wish to be so that you might establish the ultimate target – the final reward available to you only when striving to achieve all you could wish to accomplish.  Rather than living the life that others might establish for you, generate a new normal by living your dreams – by risking more than others might think wise – so that you will be able to accomplish more than others might think possible while becoming all that you were meant to be.