Half of 2023 is over- Wake up! You’re left with unfinished dreams to catch up with.
It’s too easy to sleep than go to gym. Likewise, it’s likely that you let your dreams fall sideways when things turn hot and leave you stranded at halfway mark saddled with unfinished worries. You need to be clear on what you seek and why before everything turns incredible again!
Looking back if you happen to see incomplete dreams and a scattered life and want to level up and become unstoppable in 2023, you have to really set yourself up and get clear on what you’ve done so far and what you’re really going for. I’m guessing… perhaps you need to rewrite your normal space! The BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) that you had so solemnly vowed to on New Year’s Eve, needs to be reset to keep you away from the same garbage that has so far spoiled all that you covet.
Starting something new is simple and sometimes easier than you presume but enduring it is a whole other ball game. Then there is no set timeline for embracing change. It’s solely your call to begin and accept that it may take some effort and commitment. Whatever… it’s never late to slug your failings at any point of time!
But if ongoing uncertainties have made you cautious enough not to plan ahead, you could very well understand why your struggle is just the right kinda motivation to realize your dreams. Refocusing, changing and making a new start on something left half way- no matter how small, is a big deal! Like many, you start out doing great in January but somehow lose the drive partway and now have trouble building up the same excitement again.
Like I say…it’s not entirely impossible to happen and definitely not to a single person. You’re never alone. With the right kind of stick-to-it attitude it can definitely be done. Still if you slip-up, don’t let go. Acquit yourself and pick up from where you had stumbled. You’ll walk the whole nine yards unbeaten.
Seriously how did I know what was worth pursuing? Honestly I didn’t but in heart I knew there’s always a way to help. Little did I realize at that moment that a big uptick was fated to happen to my half-baked wishes!
This is how it went for me;
Starry-eyed, I fell for the means and not the end.
Six months down the line, I was getting sick of setting goals at the beginning of the years and then not strangely not meeting them! Like everybody else I too would prep my holy grail at the onset of a new year and get aimed to get there. I knew it was going be infinitely hard to follow through, should I falter mid way. But excitement of trying hand on unknown is always pushy. Besides I wasn’t feeling bullied!
Just like anybody else my daily grind had become an annoying drudgery. I suspected I had become a slave to it. For once all I wanted was to know if I can turn around my slog into something specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. And the last thing I wanted to do was to work backwards. Y et it happened. Half year down I had done little and pulled-off little.
So I went granular and broke one year plan into three and one month plans. I had already lost much time. By planning to check-in with myself throughout the remaining half, I was making sure not to derail again. This way I could make adjustments instead of waiting till next January. It made my nightmare appear accessible. I was beginning to believe in what’s possible and what I could do. For once, my hazelnut had turned on its bough!
I quit dreaming outside my normal space
It didn’t take me long to take a hard look at what was really driving me especially when reality was messy and whole lot of half-done wishes were staring at me squarely. I remember, I was at half way mark! I somehow felt compensating for the unmet wishes? Was I dreaming badly when I fancied myself being on stage in front of scores of people cheering me for following my choices to the end? For not fantasizing weirdly I was working outside my ordinary everyday space. I hadn’t tried firsthand podcasting a new series or writing a song that would sound raucous over beat box!! Vaguely, everything sucked but it was telling!
So what was that that I needed to keep pushing me?
I guess following dreams isn’t always the best answer. Of course, we are beaten all over our heads that we should follow and pursue them passionately and turn reality into something that will make us happy. Be it a new career, you hoping to be the best-dressed person at a party, or dating a woman halfway around the planet; my guess is that we owe it to ourselves to go out and get it. Achieve that and they will finally make you happy once and for all.
Then there is another side to this. When you follow your dreams and they somehow don’t work out for you, your disappointment turns into anger- not necessarily at somebody but at reality. In no time everything becomes “immature and unappreciative.” Hard to admit but sometimes your dreams too become those things. But just as you have always been, don’t be the last one to find out that your desires have outwitted you. As is, its one heck of a job to deliver half baked desires once you’ve hit the half way mark. It could be a mile high to climb the top but it need not be next January for you to check out. Simply pick up the lost threads and the end will be far more interesting than you’d have thought.
It took me a long time to discover that I stumbled because didn’t want to climb. I just wanted to imagine the top. I’ve since then discovered that rock star fantasy has less to do with actual rocking. It implies a period of mental indulgence- not a driving need.
This is why you need to be open in mindset before you hitch your pants for the rough ride ahead; what of that heck if June mocks you? Sometimes it’s better to deal with your shit right away and not wait for that extra moment for things to fall in place.
Just don’t stretch yourself much lest you may waste all away. Someday it’ll be sunshine again!
