In Pursuit of Dreams

​There’s a saying…

Writers hate to write but love to have written.

This is a great example of what separates those who pursue their dreams versus those who do not. The key difference between the doers and the talkers is how they approach the pursuit.

Lots of people love the idea of the outcome, but not the pursuit, the hard work you have to commit to along the way.

They want to have written a book, but without all that pesky writing time.

They want to be in shape but without having to actually exercise.

If you can shift your mindset to find pleasure in the pursuit, you end up making bigger strides. Not fantasizing about the end goal, but taking each necessary step to get there, being present along the journey and finding joy in the slog.

I want to show my children, by example, that I not only dream, but also commit to pursuing those dreams. No one knows what I am capable of. Including me. I commit to pursing dreams, because I want to find out.

I was thinking about this the other day in terms of my kids, and kids in general. Adults are great at giving mixed messages. We love to tell little kids that they can be whatever they want to be. That they should dream big.

When they turn into teenagers and inch closer to adulthood, we start to chip away at that message. We encourage them to go for the sensible pursuit.

By encouraging something “sensible” or a fallback, we communicate our doubt about their capabilities.

I’m not bashing sensibility. I just think that too often we don’t give people enough credit. We assume they don’t know how to be resourceful on their own. We use criticism to put cracks in the foundations of their dreams.

I don’t want that for my kids. I want them to commit to pursuing dreams. And part of that equation is being an example for them.