…. realize that you let your dreams go unfulfilled.
“Most people have had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.
It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.”
That’s from Bonnie Ware’s blog Inspiration and Chai. I was very inspired after reading that original article.
My passion is to travel and live in other countries. For me, I can’t work in an office for 30 years and be free only to spend a week or two on vacation. I prefer to focus on vocation, not my occupation.
Working every day means that you miss seeing your family and friends due to your work schedule. You also can’t see much of the world…until you retire, that is. But by then, you’ll be wanting to spend all of your hard-earned savings on health care and an RV because that’s a “safer” way to travel.
Retire now! When you’re in the grave will it matter how much you worked or how much you accumulated? Stuff is stuff. We are so lucky to be able to experience life. We are willingly imprisoned by our ‘shoulds’: We “should” have one uniform job forever, we “should” travel only when we’re just out of college, or after we retire.
The phrase I often hear along with the “shoulds” is: “It’s not that easy to just take off.” And to that I say, yes, it is. It’s scary to take off, but it’s much more rewarding to be laying on your death bed, muttering “I can’t believe I did it” versus, “I wanted to, but…”
We have two choices when it comes to our dreams: Do or Don’t.
The reason there is so much pressure not to follow our wants is because most people aren’t, and we are living in the proverbial crab pot. Slowly letting the stress and unfulfillment build up around us, never resolving.
I heard a great quote once that basically said that people shrink their dreams to match their income, compared to pursuing their dreams and reaching for the income needed to attain them.
Your dreams don’t have to be income-related, but the point is that you shouldn’t shrink your dreams just because you think there are limitations. The only limitations are the ones you put in place.
Sure, there are challenges. You do have to make extreme sacrifices. But are you willing to make those sacrifices so you’re not lying there, on your death bed, tubes up your nose and a pocket full of regrets?
I made a decision a long time ago to change my life. At that time I was unable to afford constant traveling as a lifestyle, so I decided that I would work as I traveled. While still in good health and being able to experience things like learning new languages and try new foods, I decided that I would travel and work simultaneously. I would follow my dreams while working toward my dreams of traveling.
Instead of going to dinner in Seattle every night, I could be working from a cafe in Buenos Aires, enjoying a tango show. I would be speaking Spanish, and having steak and wine for dinner—all while getting my work done that day. I could visit my family—not for a weekend but 2 weeks—and not skip a beat.
My goal is to travel the world and learn about other cultures/ places/ foods/ histories/ people/ languages, etc. I’ve been told by others that that means a lot of vacation time and a lot of money.
But I’m doing it. And I’m blogging about my journey and how it can be done because I want to show how you too can live out your dreams. It’s not always doable in the way you expect. But with enough desire and guts, anything is possible. And your dreams are just too important.
How are you working to follow your dreams? Do you think you’ll have any regrets on your deathbed?
