You still have it. Deep down. Inside you. Somewhere. It’s the dream of who you want to become, and what you want to do with your life.
And yet, that dream seems so wild and unrealistic that you need to let go of it to pursue ‘normal’ things, like ‘normal’ people do. Like money. Money buys everything, including happiness, doesn’t it? Well then how come you still feel something tickling you inside? Aren’t you happy with all the money you have?
What I know for sure is this: You are built not to shrink down to less but to blossom into more. To be more splendid. To be more extraordinary. To use every moment to fill yourself up.
— Oprah Winfrey (more )
When you realize ‘normal’ is not what you want
People have been telling you how to live your life. They tell you what to do and which highly respected career path you should pursue. They tell you to never stop climbing higher in your career, to earn that bonus, to get that promotion. They draw a picture of happiness and tell you to try to make that picture come true.
They promise you that once you make a lot of money, then you’ll be able to settle down and be happy. Like a ‘normal’ person.
But what if that is not true?
What if you don’t want to settle down? What if you don’t like the career they have chosen for you? What if you work so hard to get more money, only in an effort to fill the emptiness inside you? What happens if one day, the money cannot fill that hole?
That’s when you realize what they have taught you is not what you want. You don’t want to just be “okay” with a job you don’t enjoy. You don’t want to be miserable working for 30 years and then call it a life.
You don’t need to be like everyone else. You don’t have to be ‘normal.’
The fear of going the other way
We are social creatures. We like the feeling of belonging. We don’t want people to judge us. We like playing it safe.
We also inherently want to be successful, to stand out and do something extraordinary. Yet the fear of failure, the fear of being different, can outweigh our desires.
What if we go left when everyone else goes right, and then it turns out we are wrong? What if we try so hard and then we fail? How can we be sure that it will all be worth our effort?
We let that fear get the best of us. We use fear as an excuse for not trying. But, what’s the worst that can happen? You get more experience, you learn more, you live more. If you fail, you will learn how to get back up. If you win, you get the life you want.
If you want to do something extraordinary, you need to be willing to do something that no one else is willing to do.
Let your dreams show you the way
Once you overcome your fear, you will face another problem. You don’t know how to start.
We live in a world where too many people tell you how to achieve your dreams, and yet you still don’t know what to do. Because the truth is they don’t know you better than yourself. They don’t know your obstacles, your strengths, your weaknesses. They don’t know what you are afraid of, or what you are proud of.
So why listen to them?
You don’t need to read all the self-development books in the world to know what to do. You just need to let your dreams show you the right path.
READ: How to Follow Your Heart and Live Your Personal Legend
What do you want to do with your life? What do you want to achieve? What is it that really makes you happy and that you won’t regret when you’re on your deathbed?
Close your eyes, and imagine that all of your dreams have come true. What will your future self tell your current self?
For the first time in your life, walk the way your gut tells you, and follow the path your heart shows you.
Your new life awaits
It’s never too late or too soon to start something new. You will never go wrong if you follow your heart. There will be some sacrifice, some sufferings, some stress, some fear. But that is unavoidable. And that is okay.
Indeed, those are the natural signals the universe is sending you that you are about to step into something extraordinary — something that will lead you to a life worth talking about.
Your new life awaits. All you need is to start.
It’s your turn.
Originally published at www.goalcast.com