Courage and Dreams

03 Sep Courage and Dreams

It’s time to find the courage to fulfil your dreams

Bronnie Ware, an Australian Nurse who worked for many years in palliative care ,wrote an article about the Top 5 Regrets her patients had in life.

Number 1 was the dreams they had not fulfilled…

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.

3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

Most of us in life are living like we are going to live forever… we don’t necessarily stop to have a think about what we are doing and why we are doing it. We have desires like going on nice holidays, eating expensive meals or buying new clothes, which many of us are fortunate to experience. However, we have dreams like starting our own business or taking 6 months off to travel the world, which always remain… as dreams. Our desires consume our dreams.

It’s not until something tragic happens, when we take a step back, take stock, look at our lives and assess our priorities. Why only then, do we begin to ask ourselves what is really important in life? Each of us has the responsibility to take it upon ourselves and write down what we want in life. What are we sacrificing to not fulfil those dreams? Why are we lying to ourselves and pretending we are happy with the status quo? We’re all part of this badly oiled, yet fast moving machine… but things need to change.

Your life is about choice. Choice doesn’t require you to quit your job, it does require you to challenge yourself and rethink how you do things though. We are all currently part of an old system and that system is not working well anymore. It’s time to stop complying with the system, to start showing up, to start writing your own map. Your dreams and aspirations are probably what keep you going each day. Don’t keep on making excuses why they are not attainable. The scrap heap of dreams is the saddest place in town, but also the greatest treasure chest waiting to be opened. The game is changing, the rules are changing and the opportunities are changing. You owe it to yourself, first and foremost and then to those around you to uncover your brilliance, to remove your fears, to make a bold move and to start creating something that matters.

You are now living in an era when anything is possible. It’s easier, cheaper and faster to start something, big or small. It’s now also more important than ever to start positively contributing. So what is holding you back?