“The problem is you think you have time.” Take a moment and think about this famous quote for a minute. We delay many decisions in our lives because we believe we still have time. Time to follow our passion, take that trip with the family, and complete that personal project you wanted to finish. We think we have time to have that relationship we have always been afraid to commit to, time to go and follow our dreams. Instead, we postpone all that in hopes of the right time. In reality, it’s our way to not face the possibility of failure in those things by putting them on hold and blaming it on time, so if it never happens, well, it was not the right time, that’s all.
Guess what? There will NEVER be that 100% right moment to do what you want. The truth is any moment is as good as you make out of it, so make every moment count and go after what you want now. We tend to forget we are mortal creatures that decay with time and that this life you have today is the only life you have, and it is the only life you will ever have, no extra lives, no reruns, and no rehearsals, and most of all, game over, can happen at any minute. The YouTube blogger Mohammed Nassar talks about an interesting concept of “postponing Life” and reminds us that we should never postpone living in the now for the sake of an uncertain tomorrow.
On the other hand, because of how short life is, we need to be aware that we all have responsibilities and obligations that we need to prioritize. Risk management should always be in the back of your head when pursuing anything in life. Risk management, not fear of failure, be conscious of the difference.
In the movie “Up in the air,” the hero, Ryan, played by George Clooney, is a workaholic living out of a suitcase from one city to the other. Ryan’s role was downsizing corporations, which meant he had to fire people. In one of the scenes, Ryan and his assistant are sitting with one of the people they are firing, Bob, and after a heated conversation with Bob, Ryan says to Bob, “Do you know why kids love athletes, Bob? Because they follow their dreams.” It turns out Bob had a passion for French cooking, and he put that passion on hold all his life for his corporate job. Ryan reminded him that while losing his job is sad, it is a blessing in disguise to go out and follow his long-awaited passion profession.
With that said, you need to be aware of your purpose in life; you need to recognize your dreams and objectives that you want to follow and achieve. Do not worry about the pace or the speed at this stage. It’s better to focus on getting on with it, having the engines on, and taking the lead and action toward them. A couple of months ago, I heard a podcast about discovering one’s potential and life purpose and the blockers we subconsciously create to prevent ourselves from following those aspirations by using a carefully crafted set of exercises that can help you uncover your purpose. The idea is a home set box* you purchase, and you go through the stages of that exercise, which takes a good ten hours minimum. Going through it, I realized things about myself that I never thought of, at least not from that perspective. This box will help you discover certain emotions, dreams, wishes, goals, or desires that you have always had but somehow were always blocked or suppressed deep inside you. You will find out that you have people in your life that should NOT be there and others that are not there, whom you need to invite into your life. You will learn what you need to do to achieve your dreams. Most of all, at least for me, you will realize that life is better with a company and that everyone needs a copilot. Having a life partner will make all its low moments bearable and all its high moments much more enjoyable.
I will conclude by saying, never stop chasing your dreams and never stop taking risks in life; otherwise, sadly, life will be a waste of time, and you will only regret that time not well spent when it’s too late. Take risks in those you enjoy their company and in the passions you have been dreaming of pursuing; it is the only way to know if it is worth it. Nothing beats that exhilarating feeling of accomplishment when you realize you were right in taking that risk. Imagine expressing your emotions to someone and finding out that they had the same feeling for you or starting a project and realizing that this is what you were meant to be doing all your life. Of course, the worst that can happen is that this risk fails, which is OK. Trust me; you would rather live with (oh well) vs. (what if).
Erin Hanson said it beautifully in one of his poems when a caterpillar is ready to become a butterfly and is afraid of falling: “There is freedom waiting for you, on the breeze of the sky, and you ask, “what if I fall?” Oh, but my darling, what if you fly?”
* the box is by VISOUL, the transformational growth tool https://visoul.com/discount/Rakan
