What is it about the thought of chasing our dreams that actually prevents us from doing so? Is it the amount of commitment and dedication that our dreams take in order to become a reality? Is it the thought of failure that prevents us from even trying? Maybe, it is the judgement of others that prevents us from chasing our own dreams.
I am not going to lie, finding the motivation today to write my thoughts was a bit of a struggle. After a very exciting and eventful weekend, taking the day off from everything and sleeping sounded like a good idea. Honestly, that was my intent. I was about to give up on one of my goals, which is writing every single day for a year straight.
As I was laying in bed with my eyes closed, I just couldn’t get over feeling like a failure. Not only a failure to myself, but a failure to everyone who was supported me on my journey thus far. Who could I ever tell people to work hard and follow their dreams, if I was not going to do the same. Here, I was about to give up on my dreams because I was tired and had an upset stomach.
Finally, I found the strength to roll out of bed, and make my way to my desk. The clock had just hit 3 o’clock in the afternoon. As I sat down in my chair, I kept telling myself to go back to bed.
It isn’t worth it. Nobody is going to read your blog anyhow.
Who cares if you take just one day off. Nobody will even notice.
Did you actually think that you were going to accomplish this spur of the moment goal that you set for yourself?
I can’t tell you how many times these thoughts popped into my head. Are they true? I mean, maybe to some extent, but only time will tell. But as I was staring at a blank computer screen, it hit me. Who cares if I never get millions of readers. Who cares if people would or wouldn’t notice if I missed a day of writing. And who cares if others find value in my writing. Why? Because everything that I have done to this point has all been worth it to me. Plus, those thoughts weren’t the reason that I started to write anyhow.
This dream that I AM turning into a reality, this is my dream. I am not sharing every aspect of my life to please other people. I am actually sharing my life to do the exact opposite, to try and shed light on the dark spaces of life. If I can help others through my experiences in life, great. But I share my experiences primarily to help myself.
What could be greater than the approval of others? How about approval from yourself. The amount of strides that I have made in my life throughout the last six months have been astronomical. I have gone from five years of lows, to the highest point in my life. And it is because I believe in myself, and because I am following my own dreams.
So why is it important to follow your dreams? Let me be the first to tell you that there is no way I could be happy with myself if I would have given up on my dreams just because I was tired. Everything that I have done up to this point would have been for nothing. Everything that I have overcome so far would have been washed right down the drain. And every time that I would have started something in the future, that feeling of failure would have always stayed with me.
Aside from that, what is the point of living life if we are not following our own dreams? It’s not like anybody else is going to chase our dreams for us. We should not waste this amazing opportunity to settle for being mediocre. We should all do everything that we can to make this one life extraordinary.
Remember, at the end of the day, this really is your one and only opportunity at life. You are the one that has to be proud of it, and you are the one that has the opportunity to change it. Live your life how you want to live it, follow your dreams, and cherish every single aspect of your life.
Michael Bonnell
8/22/2018
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