S01 Ep03: Stop Putting Off Your Dreams for “One Day”

EntrepreneurshipSelf-ImprovementEducation

Dec 27

Written By Melissa Wesner

We’re likely all guilty of putting our dreams off for “one day.” We say things like,
“One day I’ll…”
“When I have more time I’ll…..:
“When I have more money I’ll….”
“When the kids are older I’ll…”
When we do this, we delay pleasure, and we put off meaningful experiences with the very basic assumption that we will have that “one day.”
In this episode, you’ll be encouraged to:
• Recognize the lines you use for delaying the pursuit of your dreams
• Recognize that putting off your dreams for “one day” is risky business
• Consider ways that you can begin taking action on your dreams now!
You’ll also hear a very personal story that made this lesson hit home for me this past year!
Hey big dreamer, you and I are still getting to know one another, but if there’s one thing I know, it’s that we can sometimes delay the pursuit of our dreams. We say things like, “One day, I’ll be able to travel, or “One day when I have more time on my hands, then I’ll be able to take better care of my health.”.
We put off the things that we truly want to do, believing that the circumstances simply aren’t right at the moment. We don’t have the time, or the money, or it’s hard to do with the kids….and so on and so on. As you’re listening here, I want you to think about the lines you are notorious for using to talk yourself out of your dreams by telling yourself that “ one day” the conditions will be better. One day when the kids are older, it’ll be easier…or one day when I have more time or more money….” Seriously….what’s you’re line?
Today, I want to encourage you to stop delaying the pursuit of your dreams. Stop leaving them on the table for one day….because we are not guaranteed tomorrow…..
Before you think I’m talking about this subject as though I’m above falling into this trap myself, I want to keep it real real. And I want to share an unfortunate, but true story that really made what I’m telling you hit home.
You see, I have a lifetime of workaholic tendencies behind me…in a way, it’s just how I’m wired, but for the past 2 or more years, I’ve really been trying to get it under control. I love my work, and…I also knew that I didn’t want my work to come before time for my family or my own enjoyment.
This past year, things started to pick up and I had a really busy week where I was back to working my really long hours again. At the end of the week, I was feeling kind of mad. Not mad at anyone or even myself, but mad that I found myself working such long hours again, missing valuable time that I could have been spending with my partner.
And…to make matters worse, I really didn’t see an end in sight because we were entering into a busy season at work, and it would require my attention. Even good things can keep us busier than we’d like.
That weekend, a friend called me and told me about an article she saw in the newspaper about someone who had been hit and killed by a car while out walking with a friend. She told me the name and asked if it could possibly be the person we both knew. Neither one of us could be sure, so my friend reached out to others to see if they had heard anything. Sure enough, it was the person we knew. While I only knew this person through our running as volunteers, I knew from my years of interacting with her that she was kind and warm and consistent in showing up. I knew that it felt good to see her and to talk to her.
And I knew that this was someone who made so many of the choices that we respect and encourage to live a healthy and meaningful life. She had a full-time professional job, a family. She exercised regularly, volunteered, had a circle of people who cared about her. Given all of those factors, we all would have assumed that she had many years ahead of her…but unexpectedly her life was taken.
The news of this loss, right at the time when I was feeling really upset about not spending my time in the most meaningful ways, really took a toll on me.
It was yet another reminder that we truly are not guaranteed tomorrow.
I know I’m not alone in delaying dreams. I hear others delay their dreams too. As I record this episode, I’m in the midst of planning for an upcoming retreat I’m hosting for entrepreneurs in Costa Rica. I hear people say things like, “leave the office!! For a full week? How could I ever do that?” Or…I can’t go this time due to children, or money, or schedules), but I’ll be ready for the next one.
Now I’m not saying that these are not valid reasons…what I am saying is that if we remembered that our time on earth is finite and that we truly are not guaranteed tomorrow, that we might be making different decisions.
For me, I have some really big dreams, and because of these dreams, I’ve found myself working, working, and working, thinking that one day I’ll be able to rest, relax, have more time for my family. But…if I keep waiting and delaying these dreams, I may find that the actual reality that exists in that future might not be as I expect it to be. Will the people I envision that future with be healthy and here? I hope so, but putting off meaningful experiences for the future can be risky business.
This past year, I’ve read book after book that talks about “acting as if” your desired future self or desired future reality is here. For me, that means giving myself permission to rest, relax, and spend time with my family now. These are all things that I am actually capable of doing now. It also means pursuing my dreams now, knowing that they might not be as picture perfect as I’d like, but for me, I’d rather do it now and know that I’ve had that experience than to continue putting it off for one day when I’m hoping the moon and stars align and that the actual future lines up with the picture of what I’ve imagined it to be.
So, I want to leave you with these questions.
1. What are the big dreams and meaningful experiences that you’ve been putting off?
2. What are the lines you use to convince yourself that it’s better to pursue these experiences later on?
3. What could it look like if you allowed yourself to pursue these meaningful experiences now….this year, rather than “one day” in the unknown future?
I’d really love to hear your responses, so please be sure to share them with me on our social media channels or via email at hello@dreaminganddoing.net.
And, if you need help dreaming, don’t forget that I’ve created a FREE big dreams journal prompt to help you tap into your big dreams!
You’ll find the link in the show notes.
Thanks so much for hanging out with me!