It’s easy to want or desire something, but it’s entirely different to actually take action and turn that dream into reality. It feels good to talk about your goals and your hopes. I read somewhere that talking about your goals tricks part of your brain into making you feel like you’ve already achieved them.
I used to always talk about moving to Denver and what I liked about the city. And people seemed to enjoy listening. It felt good to say “one day”.
The thing about “one day”, though, is that it never comes without making a decision, creating a plan, and having the discipline to put in the work to execute that plan. One day I will move to Denver. One day I will get down to less than 10% body fat. One day I will hike a 14er. One day I will make lots of money and be debt free.
I was recently reminded of a quote from Marrianne Williamson: “ Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our Light, not our Darkness, that most frightens us. “ I believe that there is some truth to this statement. It’s far easier to wish for a thing and blame others or circumstance for it not coming to fruition.
It takes work to make your dreams a reality. Work that we’re not always willing to do. It often takes us getting to a level of discomfort before we can finally take action. We reach a point where continuing to do the same thing is painful. And the only way for us to get relief is to blow our shit up and make a change. That’s what it took for me.
Denver had been on my radar for nearly 4 years before I finally made the move. For years I said “one day” and made multiple excuses for not moving there. I even thought that I would move somewhere else — and did for a little while. I left my friends and tribe in South Carolina, a place where I experienced the best years of my life, and moved back home to Alabama for money and career ambitions. I hated it.
I never felt comfortable and I was terribly missing my friends in South Carolina. The job paid well and brought with it lots of cool opportunities, but it never felt right to me. I hated my life and couldn’t stand being where I was. I was filled with regret.
I had started dating a girl in Denver and did the long distance thing for about 6 months. She kept me sane and gave me something to look forward to at least once month when we visited one another.
Eventually, the skin I was living in was so uncomfortable that I had to make a change. My fears no longer mattered to me anymore. I had to start living for me and going after what I truly wanted. I wanted to live in Denver, and I wanted to give my new relationship a fair shot.
So I made the decision to relocate to Denver and created a plan to make it a reality. This involved moving in with my parents and saving enough money to relocate without a job.
Making my dream a reality took discipline and sacrifice. I had to let go of my ego and not care about how it would look to be 36 years old and living at home with my mom. I had a clear vision for what I wanted to achieve and a rock solid plan. Nothing else mattered.
To achieve your goals that’s what it will take. Regardless of what you want to do with your life, you have to make a decision. You have to make a plan, and you have to have the discipline to execute that plan. Otherwise, you will be committing yourself to always say “one day”. Make a decision today to create more for yourself. Make your dream a reality. You can do it, I believe in you.
Originally published at medium.com