Everyone has dreams and
aspirations, and yet most of us in life will never see them through.
Perhaps it’s due to being afraid of failure, unprecedented circumstances,
or even death. And the ones who do achieve their dreams? Most are often
left unfulfilled, wandering aimlessly and confused — why?
Because dreams are meant to be
dreams, they’re supposed to be unattainable. That’s why they’re dreams, right?
Wrong.
Here are 5 terrible excuses for
letting your dreams go.
1.
You think you’re not good enough
Yes, everyone has that little
voice in their head screaming that they’re pathetic, a failure, and worthless.
Sometimes, you believe you’ve created the best thing that’s ever been on earth,
and the next day you are wondering how in the world you managed to create such
a piece of dirt.
Well, there are many things that science has
told us about that little voice. For one, it was originally used as a
means of comfort and security. Yes, I know, that voice that calls you ugly
and worthless was intended to be helpful, not harmful. And it’s not like you
can tie it up, put some tape on its mouth, and throw it in the corner. But
let’s face it, that voice is one of the best things we can have.
It will tell us over and over when something isn’t good enough, and that’s
us.
We know our limits, and so do our
minds. So, the next time you hear
that little old brain of yours telling you that your piece of art/literature/acting/athletics is terrible,
think of it as a way of your brain saying this: I can do better, I know I can. I can
succeed in my dreams.
2. You say you “don’t have
enough time.”
I’m going to say this once:
dreams are meant to be taken and worked on. And if you don’t have enough time
for something you’re passionate about, then you truly never were that
passionate about it.
Successful people make time,
and if you’re one of those people who are constantly on Facebook, Instagram, or
Tumblr, grab a stopwatch and start counting the minutes. When you decide that
you’re going to sit down and watch TV, start counting the minutes. A recent
study from The Telegraph shows
us that the average person spends an hour and forty minutes on social media
each day — and you still say you have no time?
If you truly have no time, no
time in the world to do what you love, drop what you don’t like and start doing
what you love. Yes, you might make a little less money, you might not be able
to go to the gym, you might not be able to do certain things you like, but you
will be able to do the thing you love and pursue your dream. You have one
life, so what do you have to lose to go after a dream? Nothing.
2.
Your peers think otherwise.
“Hey, Jenny, heard you want to be a writer. Good luck with
that — you can’t write, and becoming a successful author is, like, super hard,
so come party instead.”
Everyone has that one
person who will stop at nothing to put down their dreams,
their aspirations. These people believe that in life, you have to be a
realist. Being an artist doesn’t pay bills, neither does being a writer. What
pays bills is working a 9-to-5 job that you might hate, and for what? A nice
car, a nice house, a nice job, some status? But what about that dream? What
about that dream to be a writer, to publish work?
You know, I can tell you
something, something that’s a fact. If you worked a 9-to-5 job and died
tomorrow, what would happen? Someone would come and take your place,
people would mourn, and that would be it. Your life as a blip in the earth’s
existence. Forgotten. However, if you go out there in that big world and
attempt to make something of your dream, you will be more successful than any
other millenial who worked all day in a job they despised. Whether it’s being a
dancer, being an athlete, being a writer — you have the chance of never being
forgotten. The chance of your name to be written on a great piece of work, in a
record book, in an amazing play. You have nothing to lose and everything to
gain. So go for it.
To quote Alan watts: What
would you do, if money was no object?
Do it.
4. You say, “I’m not quite
ready yet.”
It takes a lot of courage to
chase a dream. That becomes more evident when you sacrifice family time, your
lifestyle, your hobbies, your finances, and even risk losing everything. Now,
I’m not saying go out and quit your job, burn your bridges, destroy your
foundations. What I am saying is to rediscover that passion, that eternal flame
that is within all of us to chase our dreams, because you only have one life.
With every day that passes, you
are the oldest you’ve ever been, and the youngest you’ll ever be again. Time
will run from you, and I hear a lot of, “I’m not quite ready yet” or “I’m too
young, I don’t have enough experience.” That is bologna. I will say this time
and time again: you don’t wait for opportunity, you
create your opportunity. You build your bridges, and I’ll be damned
if there is a path that leads to success that is covered in debris, fallen down
and broken — you’d better get ready to clear it. Because you are ready. You
will make yourself ready.
5. You lie to yourself.
Being honest to yourself is one
of the hardest things to do in life. People do not like disappointments, and
when you are striving to be successful, you always hear the words, “I’m doing
my best,” “I work my butt off,” and “I’m always busy.”
People like to proclaim
self-greatness. But it’s always good to understand you aren’t the best — yet.
I’ll give you an example. My dream is to become a writer, and when I was
younger, I used to claim that I didn’t read books because I thought all the
stories were pointless and I didn’t like the way other writers wrote. Well, I was
lying to myself, and had convinced myself of this lie. The reality was that I
believed I wrote the best and had the talent to be the greatest — I still do,
but in a much humbler way. I stepped back and told myself that I am nothing but
dirt right now. That in order for me to grow, I must learn from the best. I
picked up many novels by Stephen King. I don’t like his novels greatly — some I
love, most I like. But he is argueably the most popular and well-known writer
there is. I stopped seeing myself as someone who can contribute to the world of
literature, and starting seeing myself in my true form: as an apprentice,
learning on his own through self-education.
So, stop with the excuses and
go out there and change the world.
Title slightly modified. Article
by Elliott Morreau
Image: soulbridging.com
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