Every day as part of my commitment to personal development, I spend some time in mental wellness land. I peruse an entry from The Daily Stoic, spend some time with insights from other humans whom I admire (right now I am working my way through Tribe Of Mentors by Tim Ferriss, read a chapter from a book concerning behavioral modification and/or subconsciousness training, and finally listen to a little mindful podcast.
I do this every day. Because you know what? I am excited about seizing the day! Life is a glorious marathon for me, and athletes, they train. My morning mindful routine is all about doing the work, the work to better live!
We are here for such a brief time, soon to be forgotten, blown away with the detritus that encompasses the passing of time. Instead of being plagued by angst over that truth, we should live every moment mindful of our brief stay here.
Which leads me to dreams. We all have them. I am sure there are some of you out there like me, who like lots of things but didn't really know what your dream was because you buried you beneath the people pleasing chameleon part that you have played to navigate this life.
Well, all of my training, all of the work I have put in has helped me to strip away that conditioning and help me to realize what my dreams are. We live in an age where there are so many tools to help us self-actualize and train away the bad habits and self-limiting false beliefs that we adhere too. Those impressions, those thoughts only serve to hold us back, to keep us from our dreams.
That's right, I said it, the only person holding you back from your dreams is you.
How do I know this? Because I am living proof of it. We are wired to seek comfort and familiar patterns. I'm terrible about this because I seek out peace. But you know what? Discomfort and intense persistence are what achieved dreams are made of, not sitting on the couch saying, "I wish I could do that?" or "I always wanted to do that, but..."
No.
If you have a dream, just leap! Work through what works and what doesn't with an attitude of humility and determination to learn along the way. It's okay to be scared, embrace the discomfort, don't lounge on the procrastination bean bag!
I recently read in Mel Robbins' most excellent new book, The High Five Habit, "Your inaction is torturing you." Dang right it is! We'll always find an excuse to not do something, especially if that excuse is fomented out of fear and self-doubt. Things happen in life whether we do what we dream or not, so why not do the work toward your dream and learn to flip whatever comes at you in a way that helps you to learn and grow along the way.
Today, my life got flipped completely upside down. Yes, I am a bit scared, a bit uncomfortable, but the flippening is me getting offered what I have been training myself for, my dream, and I am going all in my friends, hard. And I hope that you all striving towards your dreams too, you'll always have a source of encouragement here from this Kat!
