What better time to find this inspiration, it’s the beginning of the year and many of us have set goals, realigned our vision and are working towards achieving them. I was speaking with a friend earlier, explaining that I’ve been feeling extremely anxious lately, especially at the beginning of a new week or month. He asked me why: in that moment my expectations, goals, and dreams flashed through my mind; “the dots are disconnected.”
I have realized that the moment we find the starting point to our dreams, we usually have predetermined in our minds that it is supposed to unfold in a specific way and then we meet a brick wall, we panic and anxiety sets in. The dots suddenly fail to connect and all that is left are scattered pieces of a puzzle. It doesn’t mean we have to stop working toward our goals; maybe just try if it fits differently.
Having experienced my share of disappointments, I’m becoming more aware and learning how to hold them in check. A while back I came across a dream opportunity that was empowering and exciting in a way that motivates you through life. Confidently and full of hope, I went for it! Waiting on feedback felt almost like a lifetime, somehow I knew too well it could go both ways but the reality of failing at a first attempt came hitting hard. I was fully immersed in that moment, I froze and everything else paused as my mind spiraled through confusion, disappointment and feelings of defeat loomed. It took me a while to recover from this and even so, sometimes how I realize that it’s not an easy process is when I find myself feeling afraid to expect or hope for so much. Through this process I learnt the importance of not letting all my hopes and happiness ride on dreams coming true and that sometimes you need to allow yourself to appreciate the freedom in just having the opportunity to try no matter the outcome; with that I got a second wind and pursued it again.
The fear of being
disappointed is the one thing that plagues us; we get consumed with questioning
ourselves while in the process haunting our most daring pursuits. We find
ourselves responding as such, “I don’t know what I want but it’s definitely not
this” we begin to doubt the process and opportunities that are presented. Subsequently,
we refrain from taking the actions we know we must take in order to achieve a
desired goal or objective. We all feel this way once in a while, the reality is
that fear will always be there; even as we grow and adapt to new situations,
there will always be something new or different that scares us. But we have to
be willing to face our fears and go for it anyway; it is the only way we will
move forward.
Most important to
note is that your dream life is attainable, but keep in mind things will get
hard and seem too difficult to bear, there will be times where you fall and
don’t want to keep going. But the rewards on the journey are far greater than the curve-balls life throws.
Life is a series of
small destinations, paving way for new discoveries and a fulfilling journey. Sometimes
we’ve got to keep our eyes from solely focusing on the goal and focus on the
process as it keeps us grounded and shapes our character. There’s no defined
path that leads to achieving your goals, connect the dots and create your own
path.
Written By:
Dorcas Waringa
29th January, 2018
