Let Them Go

Put the dream down, and step away.

I love to dream, but it is pretty rare now since the stroke. I have always loved dreams, even when they are nightmares, as from a young age I was able to recognise I was dreaming the majority of time and then, have some fun with it. Not complete control, but at times complete surrender. Scary dreams were the best, when my heart would race to the point of exploding - but I don't really like scary movies.

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Yet, these aren't the dreams I think people should put down. I am talking about those "life dreams" of wanting something in some unknown future. Sure, dreams can give something to strive for, but more often than not, they become an always out of reach condition with chances of happening approaching zero - because there is no action to support them.

People love to hope.

We have these amazing brains that can imagine the unreal and attempt predict the yet to happen, and we use our brain to hope for a better tomorrow. But the problem is that when most people hope, they leave it at that, as if hoping is enough to change the conditions and perform the necessary actions for better to actually eventuate. It is like changing the profile picture to the flag of a country under attack, assuming that the job is now done and peace will forever reign from that day forth.

Humans need hope.

Yes. I think this is true. But I also think that with the current technology and culture, hope is seen as some kind of practical strategy for improvement. It is like if people close their eyes, cross their toes, and just hope hard enough, all their dreams will come true.

Seems childish, doesn't it?

And yeah, while we need hope to describe a future worth working toward, that work still needs to be done. And when it comes to our dreams, it is no different. We can dream, we can hope, we can wish - but the best chance of realisation of what we want, is going to require action. The problem that most people have with action isn't only that it takes energy, but it also takes the dreaded....

Commitment.

Not just to the action, but to the path itself. It means saying "I want this enough to do something about it" - No matter how I feel in the moment. The commitment to a personal goal or cause is the fallback position when we are too tired, too sad, or too unsure. When we aren't at our best we can dig deeper and say, "I committed, so I will do".

A real commitment, is skin in the game.

However, many people don't commit to much of anything at all these days, especially the young. The words people say cannot be trusted, because no matter what is said, many people don't hold their own words with any weight. Instead, they say "I will" and omit the "If I feel like it" end. And the feel like it takes near perfect conditions with next to zero chance of failure, and a payoff that is worth far more than the work is worth for them even to attempt it.

And if a person is unable to commit to others, what are the chances of them being able to stay committed to doing what is required to realise their dreams, when the road is almost certainly littered with hard work and challenge?

Approaching zero.

So perhaps people should take a step back and have a hard look from their wants, desires and dreams and then at themselves and what they are willing to do. And if they are honest with themselves, perhaps they can scratch 80% of the items from the list and then focus on the 20% they are actually willing to do something about.

Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]

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