It’s The Journey, Stupid
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Having a big dream is exciting. You treasure your dream, make plans on how to get to it, work hard to implement the plans. The dream consumes you.
But when the dream starts to rule your life, you start missing on things: you live in the future, so things happening in today’s world don’t mean anything to you.
That’s why today, I thought it’s about time to balance all this talk about dreams, doing more, and making things happen a bit and make a short trip back in time - from tomorrow back to today.
Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.
- Greg Anderson
More than anything, this is a reminder to myself not to let my dreams become the only reality - because that would mean losing my life. It’s the journey that matters, not the destination!
Dreams are good
We need dreams to define who we are, and who we want to be.
We need dreams to tell what we value.
We need dreams to give meaning to life.
We need dreams to feel alive.
A person who is not dreaming might just as well be dead.
You only have this day
Tomorrow is not here yet, or as Nora Dunn wrote back in April, there is no tomorrow!
So, what’s left for us?
Today. Right now.
The only moment we can touch, feel, and have an effect on.
Dreams matter today
My big dream is to stay at home to be near my family while making my income from running a successful Internet business.
That’s not going to happen overnight, so I have a choice to make:I can just work hard and spend all my todays thinking about that still far away tomorrow, or I can keep moving towards the goal, but make sure that I’m living according to that dream already today.
The reason why I want to be a stay at home dad is that I love being with my family, so if by chasing my goal I lose the time I could spend with them today, I’m doing something wrong.
This is all about the big picture.
When you understand your destination, you realize that it needs to serve as a reminder of all the things you value on your journey so that you don’t forget them today. Not just as a goal in the distant future but as something that you can already feel today.
That might just be the secret to making your dreams become reality.
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June 6th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
I completely agree Jarkko.
It’s all about the fun. It sounds so superficial, but I believe it goes deep down to the meaning of life. We are given only one ticket for this ride aboard the spaceship Earth and how else to show the gratitude for this fortune if you don’t make most out of it and enjoy every single second?!
But I believe that we should be careful and recognize that dreams do change. They change along with our values, experiences, needs and expectations. And it is never a bad thing. The Impermanence, or the Change, is the fuel that makes everything move. And we all are a part of it…
June 6th, 2008 at 8:51 pm
I agree. I often talk about life purpose on my blog, but the purpose is not some kind of destination. It’s about who we are and who we will be.
I guess I’m reading this post by synchronicity because I just hosted a guest post on the same topic. It’s a beautiful piece of a man’s journey in search of meaning and purpose. Please enjoy (I guess commentluv will show the title of the post. . .)
Akemi - Yes to Me’s last blog post: How I Traded My Life For Future Security And How I’m Getting It Back
June 7th, 2008 at 11:25 am
@Dren: Yep, dreams evolve. It’s a bit like being an archeologist slowly finding more and more aspects of the dream. I think it goes hand in hand with learning more about who you are. Change is good.
@Akemi: Well said. Purpose is more like fuel that keeps us going than a place where we’re headed to. Thanks for the link to your post, it fits this moment perfectly!
June 9th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
“But when the dream starts to rule your life, you start missing on things: you live in the future, so things happening in today’s world don’t mean anything to you.”
That is such a good point, and describes me to a T. My goal has been to be able to run my own business full time - this dream was so all consuming that all I’ve done (particularly in 2008) is work-work-work.
I finally had a bit of a revelation a few weeks ago… realizing that I am completely missing out on LIFE! I want to do this so that I can spend more time with my husband and daughter - but in reaching this point, they were perhaps the most ignored of all! :(
I’m happy to say, though that working towards my dream has finally paid off - this is my last week as an employee and I’ll be a full time freelancer starting Monday!
It was such a decision, because I knew I could keep juggling both jobs longer, just to have a bit more saved up in the bank (that financial security). But realizing that in doing so, I’m ignoring the part of the dream that is the ultimate outcome - to spend more time with my family. So, I took the plunge.
I can’t wait to get to focus on this new phase of my career, but more so to finally have my Family back, which is of course the MOST important thing of all!
Selene M. Bowlby’s last blog post: Get Clients Now! The First 28 Days, Week 4
June 9th, 2008 at 3:43 pm
You’re absolutely right, Jarkko. It’s important not to get so caught up in tomorrow’s possibilities that we ignore what we already have right in front of us. I think I’ve been managing a reasonable balance so far, but since with being so busy recently, I can see how things could easily go overboard.
(PS: Just started beta testing this morning, and I’m liking it thus far. :-) )
@ Selene: Congratulations on making the leap into full time freelancing! May your business live long and prosper. :-)
Joshua Clanton’s last blog post: Progress Review - May 2008