This week, I found the need to re-evaluate my dreams based
on the stage of life I am in now. A I
read “Stars and Stepping Stones, I felt like it was geared toward people who
were just starting adulthood. Part of
the exercise was to look at what your life will look like at 30, or 50 or
70. At the age of 44, looking at 30 is a
long stretch backwards. So, I’ve had to
re-evaluate what measurements I can use in relation to my current life
stages. I believe I can still look at my
life plans in increments, but perhaps those increments will be 5 years apart instead
of 10.
In response to the presentation by John Pausch, I think that
he could accomplish so many of his childhood dreams because he actively worked
toward them. He solidified the idea, remembered
them and focused on them. In the transcript
of Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams, he
talked about his main childhood dreams of writing an encyclopedia article, playing
football for the NFL and being in zero gravity.
He worked really had to be a football player, and while he wasn’t a good
fit for the NFL, he did learn a lot from his football training and loves the
game still today. When he found himself
with a possibility to experience zero gravity, he pretty much bent over
backward to find a way to make it happen.
When he was told the faculty wasn’t allowed to go, he found a way to be
included in the journey anyway. If it
hadn’t meant much to him in the first place (or if he hadn’t already solidified
it as a dream) he wouldn’t have been motivated to make the sacrifices or to do
the work necessary.
Keeping that example in mind, I feel it is important to
dream. My problem comes from not being a
natural dreamer. As a child, I rarely imagined
myself as someone else or doing something out of the ordinary. Imaginative play made me feel very
uncomfortable. I know, that’s very
unusual for a child, but as a very shy child it was difficult for me. Playing
house or dress up or Barbie’s was foreign and held no satisfaction. Instead, I wrote reports and spent time
alone.
I supposed that if I had to choose one childhood dream, I
would have become a nurse. My
Grandmother was a nurse in the nursery at a hospital. She got to care for and hold newborns every
day. I admire my Grandma and thought it
would be a great career to have. As I
have grown older and gained life experiences, I found that I am incredibly interested
in the sciences. Unfortunately, my body
doesn’t agree. While medical treatments
are fascinating to my mind, I get nauseous when I’m around open wounds and
blood. Instead of going into the medical
field, I’ve chosen to use my technical talents to pursue a degree in
business.
Now that I’m grown, I know that I still haven’t
done enough dreaming. As I created my
bucket list this week, I thought about so many of the things I want to do in
life that are just ideas in the back of my mind. I haven’t gone made the effort so solidify
them as visions I can accomplish. I have
dreamed of traveling most of my life but have rarely gotten on a plane. Why? Because it takes conscious effort and
planning. My husband and I get caught up
in our daily habits and routines and rarely make plans for anything outside of
the normal. Because of that, I’ve missed
out on experiences I could have had. Last March, my husband was called to a
work assignment in Shanghai, China. I
could have tagged along and enjoyed that trip with him. Sadly, my passport had
long expired and I couldn’t get a new one in time. It was
an opportunity missed because I wasn’t prepared. I’ve since renewed my passport and I’ve
expressed to my husband over and over my desire to travel. We are making actual
plans for a trip to Europe in a few months.
Hopefully there won’t be more missed opportunities due to not planning
for what could be.
x
