Author: Symaa Navid
Everyday, we hear about amazing people accomplishing fascinating feats. We read about people starting innovative businesses. We watch humans climb mountains and traverse great expanses of land. We listen to the words of those who are making a positive difference to the world around them. And yet, despite being bombarded with news of these incredible accomplishments and acts of inspiration, very few of us take the step to do the same things ourselves.
Now not everyone is destined to summit K2, or invent a new technological advancement which changes humanity as we know it, or start a charitable enterprise that benefits the lives of millions of people around the globe. But we all have the ability within ourselves to achieve something special and meaningful, even if it is just on our own, personal level.
One of the greatest obstacles we encounter in our lives is also the thing we most want: Realising our dreams. It could be a variety of things. Playing music professionally. Buying your ultimate house in your perfect location. Finding a job you enjoy unequivocally. Or travelling the world by bicycle. There is nothing and nobody to say which dreams are correct and worthwhile. That is up to you to decide.
So why do so many of us falter at fully reaching for our aspirations, while some of us seem to effortlessly succeed? If you are reading this, you are already in a better position than the huge majority of civilisation. You have access to a wealth of information, and you possess the skills to read and understand a lot of it. You are in a privileged enough position where you most likely have little problems sourcing food to nourish yourself and provide shelter to protect yourself from the elements. What is holding us back from grabbing what we desire?
Priorities tend to determine the how’s, why’s, when’s and where’s of our lives. While we may say or feel we desperately want to buy a motorbike and travel across South America, we prioritise trivial things such as car repayments in a place that is not where we want to be. We put the pursuit of our ideal job on the back burner while we desperately hold on to employment we loathe. That brilliant business venture you’ve been toying with since adolescence? That will have to wait until you pay off the house you couldn’t afford but went for anyway to impress your friends and colleagues around you.
What we need to do is prioritise our lives not based on what society says we should conform to, but to what we want to do. The saying, “you only live once”, get’s thrown around a lot these days, but it is completely true. We do only live once. Why spend our life doing things we don’t really want to do, hoping we can do the things we want later on?
Once you feel you have sorted out your priorities in life, the next hurdle is motivation. But what most of us don’t realise is we have an abundant amount of motivation stored inside of us. The only challenge is putting motivation towards the right efforts. We have no problem waking up to an alarm day after day to drag ourselves to complete a 12 hour shift of work we dislike simply because that’s what is required of us, but trying to find an hour to create a long-lasting, beneficial existence is impossible. Use your drive and enthusiasm towards worthwhile enterprises.
With preferences and motivations in line, the hardest thing to beat is fear. Fear of failing and fear of the unknown. We dread the notions of failing in front of our peers. If we change our ways of thinking to achieve what we want, and it doesn’t happen the way we hoped, there will always be the doubt lingering in your mind, telling you that you should of never tried to start with. Taking that step towards bringing your dreams to fruition can be a scary thought if you are new to the concept. However, like most things, once you begin it gets easier. Remember, a plane takes off against the wind, not with it.
The benefits of living your life the way you want to, reaching for the things that attract our hearts and desires, grows exponentially the more you work towards realising those dreams. The closer you get to accomplishing your goals, the higher your yearning for fulfilment becomes. All of a sudden, the fears shrink away to become nothing more than past emotions. The motivation builds up to the point where nothing can stop you. The level of importance of things in your life fall into a place that leaves little room for anything else besides happiness and goal attainment. And if you do fail at any point, you have already created the perfect personal manifestation to learn from your mistakes and charge forward with more zest than ever before. When you put all your heart and soul into reaching for the stars, the universe and everything in it will conspire to help you achieve it.
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