Life In The Box

Do you let yourself dream?

Do you think about the future and what you would like to do and accomplish?

I usually don’t. 

Instead, I’ve been living inside a box labeled: Right Now. 

In this box there are projects to complete, bills to pay, and work to do. There are meetings to attend, groceries to shop for, and food to cook and eat.

It often feels irresponsible to think past my responsibilities to my hopes and dreams for the future. But in just a few months I’ll be graduating from trade school and leaving the box. What then?

Irony Strikes Again

When people ask me why I moved to Ohio, I usually tell them that everything I’m doing right now is for my future. 

The same future that I’ve refused to even think about because it would be irresponsible to distract myself from the present reality. 

But if I don’t have any hopes or dreams for my future, then everything that I’m doing right now would be completely meaningless. 

Is it any wonder that I get frustrated and burned out so often? For the majority of the time that I’ve been at trade school I’ve been working without a strong goal. Something that would make all my efforts worth the pain.

I’ve been so focused on life within school that I hadn’t thought of what to do next, after school.

But why? Why does it feel so irresponsible for me to hope and dream?

#1 Impractical

Maybe it’s because we often refer to dreams when we’re talking about the crazy stories our subconscious minds make up while we’re asleep, but in my mind, dreams are these whimsical floaty things that can never quite be grasped. 

Like wishes. 

Growing up I made the same wish every year on my birthday when I blew out my candles, but I knew it didn’t actually mean anything (cause there was no way my parents were going to get me a puppy).

Dreams (like wishes), felt like things you’d talk about even though you knew they were pointless. And why would I waste my time on something pointless?

#2 Waste Of Time

In a world where working yourself to death is the norm, dreams are just laughable ideas. Fairy Tales. I shouldn’t waste any time thinking about what I want. Instead, I should work for what I want like everyone else in the world. And keep working until I finally get it—no matter the cost.

Right?

#3 Dreams Don’t Come True

But from watching many people around me, I’ve learned that things may not go according to plan. No matter how hard they try or how much they want it, they don’t always achieve their goals. So if even people that I look up to and admire couldn’t succeed in making their dreams a reality, then how could I possibly hope to do it for myself?

It’s scary to dream. To admit that I want something for my life. I don’t want to get my hopes up only for them to be dashed against the rocks of reality. 

A Dream A Day Keeps The Burnout Away

Fear isn’t a good reason to keep from dreaming (or doing anything, for that matter). 

I need to dream. 

Although, dreaming shouldn’t be the only thing that I ever do.

Work without vision leads to stress and discouragement, but vision without work leads to nothing at all.

What I really need is a good balance. 

I enjoy many aspects of writing—and even many of my other responsibilities, but I recognize that I need the encouragement that dreaming can bring to my life.

Before You Go…

Do you have trouble letting yourself dream?

Let me know in the comments!

Read last week’s blog here.