As the weekend approaches after what I’m sure has been an intense week – this story popped into my mind and I felt compelled to share it again. A good reminder for all of us, myself included.
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On one of my trips to the US, I met an older woman, in her sixties, returning home from an “amazing” trip to Europe.
She was very excited, telling me about all the beautiful things she had experienced there and how great it was to finally make her lifelong dream come true. But as I was listening to her, I noticed some sadness in her eyes – sadness so deep that all her interesting stories and excitement could not hide it.
Later I learned why.
No time for dreams
The lady has been retired for a few years now, after working hard at the Post Office all her life – from right out of high school. The postal work required long hours and 6 days a week most of the time. The pay was not high, but she enjoyed working with people and helping them. You could see her servant attitude in the way she talked about people.
She had always dreamed of visiting Europe, but as she said, “Life is too short. I always wanted to travel, but didn’t have the time.” As she was saying that, a shadow of deep regret crossed her face . . . because it was her first trip ever, not only outside of the US, but inside it, too!
As I was listening to her, I asked myself:
- Why it is that we say, “I just did not have time for this and that.”?
- Why do we allow other things to take over, so that we don’t pursue our dreams?
- Why do we get so preoccupied with daily routines, working hard for a paycheck and running around, that we forget about our dreams, our passions?
Don’t get distracted
We all have dreams, who we want to become and things we want to experience. But many of us don’t take action, so the dreams stay dreams. We go through the motions each day, hoping that “some day” will come and the dreams will come true – hoping that we will do or have those things we’ve always dreamed about, and that we will become what we’ve always wanted to be.
Then one day we find ourselves looking back on our life and thinking – where did my life go? I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be in my sixties and feel the same way that older lady felt! I don’t want to allow my days to slip away without a purpose and then regret that I did not take the time for the most important things in life. Do you?
Time is limited and we will never have time to achieve our dreams and goals, if we don’t actually plan time for them. If we don’t plan our time, somebody or something else will do it for us. Time with kids and loved ones? If we don’t plan it, other less important things will fill up our schedule. If we don’t make a conscious decision to exercise each day, and don’t plan in time for it, the day easily goes by and other things fill up our schedule. Have you experienced that?
If we want to live balanced and fulfilled lives, and achieve our dreams, aspirations, then we must also have a plan to achieve those dreams. Long term dreams and short term goals help us determine where to spend our time, and motivate us to get up every morning with a sense of excitement and purpose. It is possible!
Why it matters
Because you only get one life. Research consistently shows that regret about inaction – things we never tried, never pursued – tends to be far deeper and longer-lasting than regret about things we did and got wrong.
Your dreams are not a luxury. They are a signal about who you were made to be. And if you don’t give them a time and a place on your calendar, they will wait politely – and then quietly disappear. The woman on that plane didn’t lack talent or opportunity. She probably lacked a plan, the courage to start and didn’t prioritize time for her dreams early enough.
Without taking action, your dreams fade quietly, year by year, until one day you look back and wonder – why you didn’t pursue them and where your life went.
Your time is your life. Don’t waste either of them!
Your action this week
1. Schedule time for dreaming
This week or next week, schedule time for this. Find a quiet place – with no distractions – and start dreaming! Make a list of your dreams. Take several hours . . . or the whole day – the choice is yours. Allow your imagination to take you from where you are now to where you want to go. Your dreams and aspirations might be about what you want to BE, DO or HAVE. If you’ve done this before, spend this time anyway to calibrate where you are now with your dreams and aspirations.
2. Ask yourself the honest question
For your most important dream or aspiration, write down one sentence: “What has been stopping me?” Not to judge yourself – but to see clearly. You can’t remove an obstacle you haven’t named. Once you’ve named the obstacle, list potential solutions to remove it.
3. Turn this dream into an appointment
After you make your dreams list, pick just one that feels most relevant and block actual time in your calendar next week – even 30 minutes – specifically for it. Not “someday.” A date and a time. This will be a “meeting with your dreams.”
4. Start with a small, doable first step
What is the smallest possible action you could take in the next 48 hours toward one dream? Not the whole journey – just the first step. Book the meeting with a mentor or a friend? Schedule time blocks for working on your dream? Research what the first step should be?
Take this one step – no matter how small. Progress is what you want to get now.
Have a meaningful day!
Cheers, Andrey Sergeyev
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