When our dreams are healthy they are not limited by our current circumstances and yet, at the same time, they are built on a healthy realism.
It is easy to end up falling off on one of two sides of this healthy balance though:
- Having a dream that is not founded upon a healthy degree of realism
- Having no ability to dream beyond the reality of circumstances
Yesterday we focussed on encouraging those of us who have had to give up on dreams to keep dreaming. Today we’re going to address those of us who perhaps need to let a dream die because it just isn’t realistic.
Honestly, this is hard. Coming to the place of admitting that maybe we just don’t have what it takes is tough. Really tough. Who of us ever likes to admit that?
There are so many things that I would love to do. I am passionate about a lot of things. But passion is never enough.
I’m not necessarily saying that we can’t keep doing what we’re passionate about. But maybe that dream to be singer needs to be downgraded to that of a hobby. We can’t turn everything we’re passionate about into a career.
And here’s the criteria. If our passion doesn’t have a high level of corresponding talent, then it can never be a career. It’s a hobby. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s easy to suffer from self-delusion about this when our passion levels are extremely high. But it’s not worth wasting a big chunk of our lives pursuing something that just isn’t going to happen.
I know how hard it is to hear this. But we’re never going to maximise our potential pursuing something that we don’t have high levels of innate talent for.
ADD YOUR VOICE
Has there been a time in your life when you’ve had to face the harsh reality that it’s just not the right dream to pursue? How did you find it?
Maybe you’re in the middle of facing up to the excruciating reality of giving up a dream. What are the biggest challenges you’re facing linked with this?
Share your thoughts here.
[Read the rest of the 'Living the life of your dreams' series here.]
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve always wanted to live in Tennessee, in the mountains. I was fairly persistent with it for a while, especially through high school and then into college.
As I got closer to marrying my wife and discussing these things with her I realized that maybe it wasn’t such a necessity to move that far away from our families. I mean there are advantages to only living an hour away from your family.
Anyways, I realized that pursuing that dream right now just wasn’t going to work, it would just lead to other issues. Maybe a while down the road it will happen, but if it doesn’t that’s ok too. Excellent post!
@Justin | Hey Justin, thanks for sharing your story. You’re right, sometimes current circumstances trump previous dreams. I know that there are some dreams I had when I was single that I’m happy to lay to rest/put on hold because enjoying marriage is a richer dream.
@Sam | I did not fully know what priorities were until I got married and really started to look at things. There are definitely some things in life that are worth sacrificing for.