“Sometimes you must get somewhere to realize it’s no longer where you want to be.”

Once we are old enough to have dreams, one of the first things we are asked is “what do you want to be when you grow up”. Being taught that you must have this obtainable, reasonable goal in mind…at four.

Well, this is a much-needed conversation, this idea screams set up for self-loathing and self-destruction. Let’s chat…Let’s create a list of very strict facts. Write them down, live by them, and promise me you will never stop evolving.

 One, what you valued at 20 will be beneath you at 30 (so on and so forth). There is an infinite number of possibilities, this never-ending number of things you can become. You are allowed to reach a goal, bask in your accomplishment, then create a new one. You owe it to yourself to become everything you thought you would be at 18. The issues come in when you think you have to be stuck there. As if you won’t have new dreams at 20,22, hell 40. Like you have to stop dreaming with age. If the only constant in life is change, and you learn more about yourself as life unfolds, it is wise to only deduce that life experience will cause you to constantly change. This very idea is what you owe yourself.

Evolution is a personal concept.

Two, completing the journey is not the only time to celebrate. This is the hardest concept for adults. Think about it. Everything is rooted in childhood so let’s go back. At the completion of grade school you celebrate, at the completion of an age you celebrate, at the completion of certificates or degrees you celebrate. We are programed to believe it is only worth celebrating once the goal is complete. While this teaches our young minds to follow through, it teaches our adult brains two things. That we must finish the journey, or we are failures, and we can only celebrate after the completion of something. As if the bravery of embarking on said journey is not cause enough for celebration. If you began a journey, I am proud of you. If you got halfway through and decided it wasn’t for you, I am even more proud of you. Courage is admitting this is no longer your goal, and instead of following society and doing it anyway, you chose to chase your passion. Celebrate every step of the way, even when you change course.

Third, you are allowed to create a life around your why. This one sounds like a no brainer but trust me, we all get wrapped in the “paycheck”. Raise your hand if you go to work and know someone who wants to do something else but needs to work for a living, raise your hand if this person is you. There are plenty of people who chase career excellence just for the money. And these people become good at their selective careers because they are aware they desire a lifestyle where they obtain material things with ease. And I commend them because they are living in their passion. Aware of their why and chasing it every day, can’t help but to envy it. Being taught what success looks like over happiness is yet again something we must retrain our adult brains to undo. Think about your passion now, now think about all the careers that can be built around this passion. Too often do we get a job and try to create our personality around it. The old saying still stands “If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life”. For example, there are people who love traveling, they have this nomad spirit about them and value seeing the world above all else. They will be MISERABLE in a corporate office setting and because we need money to live their career should be built on their passion. Flight attendant, trucker, traveling job in any field (nursing, stylist, massage therapist, corporate trainer) etc., or even a travel blogger.

The trick is to make society conform to you, not the other way around.

 Don’t forget that your why, your passion, your reason may change over time, and that’s ok. You owe it to yourself to explore who you are. To allow all the versions of you to exist fearlessly. To allow yourself a space to thrive without considering age or time. Fear is only a hindrance. How do you know who you are if you never give yourself a chance to find out? How do you know if something is for you if you’ve never tried it? If you’ve never chased it? I’d rather die chasing my dreams, than wondering what chasing dreams felt like.

 Be brave enough to accomplish a goal, then set a new one. Be courageous enough to reach a milestone and admit “I actually don’t like it here”. Be bold enough to evolve and out-grow your old dreams, or bold enough to go back and chase them.  And most of all, be kind enough to allow yourself to start anew…with no regrets.

-Dream with your eyes wide open.