“I wish you: Courage to dream. Confidence to chase your dream. Commitment to eagerly achieve the dream.” ― Lailah Gifty Akita
Lately, I’ve noticed people who are chasing their dreams, regardless of their age. Some examples:
- My sister Mary retired from her accounting job and moved from Illinois to Texas. This involved getting rid of almost all her possessions, so she can start anew.
- A neighbor just finished theology school and became a Catholic priest. He is in his 60s.
- This week, my Weight Watchers leader announced she is leaving the organization to work in real estate. She is a grandmother.
- Young people are also chasing their dreams. My daughter Katie recently left her job for a better one.
For each of these people to achieve their dreams, they had to first dare to dream, to envision how their life could be. They had to overcome their fears. They had to make plans and act on them step-by-step.
Remember Susan Boyle’s first performance?
And they had to ignore their naysayers. I hate to admit it, but I was a naysayer when my sister Mary talked about getting rid of almost all her possessions and fitting the remainder, plus her two cats, into a minivan to drive to Texas. I doubted she could do it, but I underestimated her determination. Step-by-step, she made the big move to Texas happen.
Watching all these people chase and achieve their dreams makes me want to chase mine. I know I can, because I’ve achieved some dreams. In one of my earliest blog posts, Reaching for More, I admitted I couldn’t run more than one block. Now I regularly run four miles and have completed two half marathons.
In other posts, I’ve discussed some of my dreams—and related fears. My husband and I have talked about downsizing and living near a suburban downtown area someday. But we’ve lived in our house for more than 30 years, and I felt comfortable. I was reluctant to declutter, because that would get me one step closer to moving. Life coach Rachell Ross Kitchen told me, “Change can be scary; it’s normal to feel anxious and have some resistance.” She suggested that perhaps my fear is really excitement.
This turned out to be true. My husband and I are slowly decluttering, painting, and sprucing up our house and yard. We won’t move for a few years, but we are fixing up our home for ourselves to enjoy first. I’m looking forward to living near a downtown and being able to walk to restaurants and entertainment.
Photo from Wikipedia
This blog started as a dream of mine, and I’ve been writing it for more than six years. I feel it has become a little stagnant. But I’ve been thinking of ideas to freshen it up and to encourage interaction. So far, I’ve changed the blog’s appearance slightly by removing all blogger awards from the sidebar. I feel hopeful about the possibilities. Please let me know your ideas.
What are your dreams? Are you chasing them? What are your fears? Might some of them be excitement?
Women Making Strides 
Great post – so refreshing.
We must dare to dream big rather than expect mediocrity. We need to take action if we want to see change in our lives; change we have chosen rather than change that happens to us when we simply coast along.
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Making our dreams come true is essential. And we are never too old. Have been director of corporate communications most of my life. Including in Saudi Arabia where I am the only Western woman ever who has held a senior management position in a 100 percent Saudi owned company in Riyadh (the most conservative part). After living, working and integrating for 22 years in countries all over the world I returned to Sweden. Swiftly understood that the main challenge facing my county was to integrate immigrants above all make sure they learn Swedish. I consequently decided to start studying at my alma mater again. Now have a BA in languages focusing on Swedish and am starting to teach. It works very well because I understand the different values associated with different cultures. Hence get along very well with my pupils and am not, unlike many Swedes, afraid of them.
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Yep, chasing the dream on a daily basis. I am not one to sit back and relax, but do have to learn to sometimes do a little more of that. It is just not possible to always be successful at reaching your dreams. Sometimes all you can do is somewhat keeping up with your life. As long as you keep working towards the dream, one foot at a time.
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Another good article, Sue! And good for Mary for pursuing her dream! I don’t think I realized that she’d moved.
You, too, have done a good job of realizing some of your dreams, Sue. You may feel like you only take baby steps toward your dreams but from afar I see a woman who has done a tremendous amount of traveling in the last few years! And I see a woman who continues to exercise (4 mile runs are fantastic!) and a woman who is never afraid to dig deep inside to continue on the road to self improvement.
I’ve recently realized a dream of my own. David and I moved into our RV full time a week ago and we’ll retire November 1st. We’re very excited about living this new lifestyle.
Thanks for the great post, Sue!
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Thank you, Sarah. I’ve got a smile on my face after reading your comments. I’m excited for you and David as you pursue your dreams! Way to go.
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Sue , I liked this post. Our dream was to get our van RV van or Class B van. We want the freedom to take road trips but yet stay in our home to enjoy the granddaughters since they live nearby. We find our selves dreaming of all kinds of road trips we can take and we can be gone longer exploring new places. We have taken a lot of package deal or airfare deals to cities, international and US. Now, we look forward to see more of nature and national parks. I will say we are starting to fulfill another dream of traveling. 💕
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Estela, I apologize to you and the other three people whose comments I missed somehow. I’m impressed with how you and Gil are enjoying retirement and making your travel dreams happen.
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This is a really uplifting and positive post that will inspire anyone who reads it! Thanks for sharing Susan. I am a Creative Life Coach with a passion for poetry and have a poetry blog here on WordPress in case you have time for a read? Sam 🙂 http://www.peacockpoetryblog.wordpress.com
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I really enjoyed this post. Chronic illness has forced me to give up on many of my dreams, but the one I wouldn’t let go of was writing. It drove me to the brink of suicide, but I got past it and in the space of a year, I’ve signed three book deals. Never give up on chasing your dreams!
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Laura, I am very sorry for the trauma you have been through including chronic illness. But I’m happy for you in getting past the worst and for following your passion for writing. I will take to heart your encouragement to chase our dreams.
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Congrats on the four miles, and I promise you’ll feel refreshed and lighter after the decluttering (I’m in the midst of this myself and wish I could devote all my time to it for the next month or so). There are so many orgs out there willing to take useable items which helps people in need and saves the earth from ,more trash.
I love the story about Mary’s move to Texas. Thirty-six years ago, I got in my VW Bug with my few possessions and drove from Michigan where I’d grown up and gone to college to Boston, a place I’d never seen, my new home. It was my dream to live on the East Coast. Now I’ve been here more than half my life and I can’t imagine not having done it. Dream, and make your dreams happen!
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Thank you–that’s inspiring, Amy!
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