Looking back into my 20’s I can remember the dreams I had about what kind of life I’d be living right now. Am I living the life I dreamed of? In short, no.
It is so hard to predict what the world will be like in the future.It’s even harder to predict what our relationships will be like and what careers we’ll be having. The world is constantly changing and the dreams we have when we are young are a moving target.
Our youth is filled with energy and passion for the things we believe in and it’s that idealism that moves us in life. I don’t want to crush anyone’s idealism, but to believe we can predict what kind of live we’ll be living 10, 2o, or 3o years later is naive.
When I was younger I could not predict:
the relationships gained and lost
the certainty and doubt
the career success and failures
the faith lost and transformed
the pain, joy, and grief
the idealism lost and regained
Am I living the life I dreamed of? No, but I’ve come the realization that it’s not as much about the external realities of what I do, but the internal realities of who I am.
Today I am more the person I’m meant to be than when I was 20. I have a deeper understanding of my strengths, my wisdom, and expertise. I’m also more aware of my weaknesses and failures.
I still want to accomplish great things in this world, but I realize that external success without being a great person is empty. I can think of many people who have achieved what they dreamed of when they were young, but they are not the kind of people I would want to count as friends.
I know other people who have not had as much success externally but who are solid and respectable people. I’d like to count them as friends.
Is is possible to achieve your dreams without sacrificing your values and degrading your humanness? Absolutely, but I believe we need start with who we are first and let any success grow out of that.
I remember a saying from a motivation speaker by the name of Jim Rohn. He said, “I wanted a black belt in Karate not because I wanted the black belt, but because of the person I’d need to become in order to get a black belt.” If we live life as our true selves, success may follow.
As we progress through life we cannot predict what we will encounter. Many of you reading this have gone through experiences, both positive and negative, that you could never have predicted. But the real question is, “are you happy with who you are?”.
Am I living the life I dreamed of? No. Am I more the person I know I was meant to be? Absolutely.
I am grateful for the life I have. I am grateful for the lessons learned. I am grateful for the people I love.
Can a dream life be any better than that?
