Recently, I had a conversation with someone where when asked how they were doing, they responded with: “Just trying to get by.” I asked them what they meant by that and was told that they were just trying to pay the bills and survive. This person had once been full of life and ambition and now seemed entirely depressed about life.
A few years earlier this person had told me that they wanted to do big things. They had big plans, wanted to see exciting places, do exciting things and now they were “just trying to get by.” They had gone from huge aspirations to mediocrity. What happened to their dreams? Where did their path change to go down this road? When did they choose to “just get by?”
For some reason it reminded me of a little exercise you may have done in elementary school, the time capsule. What you did was write down where you wanted to be in 20 years from now, put it in a lock box and bury it. You would write what job you would have, where you would work and what kind of life you would lead. The idea was that 20 years from now you were supposed to go back and dig it up and see if you had made it to where you had once dreamed of being as a kid.
How many of us have made it to become what we once dreamed of? Did we fulfill those written words in our time capsules? How many simply exist in our world, “just trying to get by?” How many have decided to settle in our dreams and decided to live in mediocrity? We should NEVER EVER SETTLE in our dreams. Nor should we merely exist in this great world of ours. Why shouldn’t we live the dreams we once longed for? Why not go big? There is too much opportunity out there for us not to succeed and demand what we want out of life. Too many of us forget to HAVE LIFE AFTER BIRTH and go after our dreams. As Oliver Holmes puts it:
“Many people die with their music still in them.”
Attack your dreams and passions head on with such vigor and virility that nothing can shake your mission to succeed. Make it apart of your life. If you expect large things for yourself with a high estimate of your ability to succeed, demand what you want and go after it with all your might, you can achieve greatness. We can choose to go after our dreams or choose to live in mediocrity and settle.
What were your dreams? What can you do right now to achieve them?
I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes of all time:
We all must suffer from one of two pains in life: the pain of discipline, or the pain of regret. The difference is that discipline weighs ounces while regret weights tons. –Jim Rohn
What people had to say!