When it comes to leading the life of our dreams, I’m all in. Living the dream is my passion. As you read this post, the strong emotion will be undeniable. Here I will share a little of what I experienced. If you find yourself somewhere in-between the lines, my hope is for you to march in another direction, along a happier and healthier pathway closer to the place where your dream lives.
WORK TO LIVE OR LIVE TO WORK
Ultimately, I chose what I wanted but in the end I had to question why. The more time my eyes swept over my day-timer, the more overwhelmed I became. I fretted over the demanding schedule. The day started with a 7 am breakfast meeting, which then overlapped an important report submission deadline. Followed by another meeting that went overtime and ran through lunch. Important calls which required immediate responses seemed to overtake the day. Only to be followed by more pressing voicemails and urgent emails. Before I could finally take a deep breath, a sharp knock on the door had me jump from my chair.
“Did you have lunch? I know it’s 2:45 but we should grab a bite.” Bless her soul, a dear colleague who thought about me when I neglected myself. At that moment, my phone rang, my beeper beeped, and I reticently shook my head and smiled. The door closed. The ringing and beeping took me well into the evening. I left the office at 9:40 pm. There were only two cars left in the parking lot, mine, and the cleaners.
THE ESSENCE OF TIME
Fourteen hours and forty-five minutes later, Def Leppard’s Hysteria played on the car stereo as I headed for home sweet home. This time was solely mine, and as I turned up the volume, I finally escaped the day that was. Have you ever been so busy you lost track of not only time but somehow along the way… you lost track of you? Lost track of your intention, your sense of purpose, and motivation? In other words… your truth? Or perhaps, you work to live. The key is finding balance between living and working.
Time will not wait as one day blends into another and is followed by the next. Years come and go. And before you know it, you find yourself on some surreal rollercoaster, whereby those years of your life suddenly fly past you like bats out of a cave. Then from the projector screen of life, the images flash before you. Images of what was… compared to what is left of you. Images of situations and events, of good days, bad days, and everything in-between, which unravel from the projector reel of work-life balance. The more you have to balance, the more you find yourself juggling, like a clown performing in some circus act. Hopefully, you realize, sooner rather than later that this juggling act is no longer beneficial time-wise and health-wise.
GETTING PAST THE SMOKE SCREEN
Have the courage to ask, “What the heck am I doing?” One day the smoke will finally clear and you will garner enough common sense to acknowledge, enough is enough. Who do we do this for? Are we doing this for us because it’s something we truly love or is it what we happened to end up doing, entrapped in the dogma of appeasing others? If happy, no problem; however, if the situation seems overpowering… then maybe it is. Perhaps now is the time for change.
Taking care of YOU should be the first order of business, your number one priority. Love YOU, care for YOU, and consider You… always. Because to keep up a similar pace, you may not have what it will take down the line to care. To care for others. To care for yourself. We all believe in that one special day when we will have the time for less work and more play. Imagine me now whispering in your ear… “Sometimes that’s so far removed from the truth than we would like to believe.”
Your best ideas, those eureka moments that turn the world upside down, seldom come when you’re juggling emails, rushing to meet the 5 pm deadline or straining to make your voice heard in a high-stress meeting. They come when you’re walking the dog, soaking in the bath or swinging in a hammock.
LISTEN TO YOUR HEART
OK, now for a little pep talk. Learn to love yourself first, love what you do, do what you love. Our focus should be on how to create our happy moments, it’s where all is well with our personal world. As you spin around 180 degrees, ask, “What will it take for me to get to that place?” Are you still with me? The life you lead today doesn’t have to be the same life you will lead tomorrow. Reread the last sentence. The key is… do not hold yourself back from a life you dream of having.
Work with your heart, listen intently. Pay closer attention to your intuition. Is there something else you would rather do? Do it. Refuse to get trapped in something that pushes you to the brink of unhappiness. Follow your heart. Never let your passion die. Never let go of your dream. Refuse to give it up. Give yourself an ultimatum, a non-negotiable. Tell yourself, “This is what I no longer accept.” “This is what I would rather do.” Then do what it is you long to do. Keyword: DO.
Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.
Fight for the dream, your dream. Fight for the opportunity to achieve what your heart desires. Believe you deserve more and invest more time in the things, places, and people you love. Believe you can make a dream your realty and you will. Remove yourself from what’s no longer working. When we stay for the sake of staying in the places we don’t belong, we won’t achieve what it is we would rather be doing. Now, why is that? Because we wouldn’t have the time to work toward what we hope to accomplish. We are too busy helping others in achieving their dreams.
CHANGE YOUR LIFE
When wrapped up in something that consumes too much time, we have the tendency to miss out on things of importance. Things that have meaning. What do you want to do? Where would you rather be? How do you get there? Do you know? Maybe it’s time to find out. The dream will wait, but you can’t afford to wait for your dream. What you are willing to put the effort into right now?
It’s up to you to find the way to your happiness. Are we happy and content when stressed to the max? I know I wasn’t at peace. I was so busy putting out someone else’s fires; they lost me in the smoke. When you can barely catch your breath let alone keep up with everything, then you know it’s time. Time to change the way you do the things you do. Have a change of heart and create something better.
DANCE TO THE RHYTHM OF YOUR DREAM
Here in this blog post, I focus on work as it’s where we spend most of our time. You, my friend, have the power to create a state of happiness. You can create whatever you wish. If I could, so can you. When someone tells us we can’t, the rebuttal is… we can. Live your truth. Stop dancing the polka when you want, dream, and wish to dance the waltz. Take your fondest wish and play the music you prefer to dance to. And just dance to the rhythm of your heart beat.
Stay true to yourself, yet always be open to learn. Work hard, and never give up on your dreams, even when nobody else believes they can come true but you. These are not cliches but real tools you need no matter what you do in life to stay focused on your path.
Move away from where you are, from what’s no longer working, and take a step toward something that does. Do it for you, for the love you carry, for the dream. Change the way you think and you will change your life. Want it? Go after it. Stop waiting and start doing something. Live the life you were gifted. Create the life you aspire to live, determined to turn it around. After all, the life you lead is the one you choose to prioritize.
You control your future, your destiny. What you think about comes about. By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands – your own.