We are where we are because of the way we think, and if we do not like where we are, then we need to change our thinking. Many times, in life we are looking for external reasons to explain why we have not accomplished or obtained something we desire. It could be a promotion, a new car, or get married. We rationalize our desires, or lack of obtaining what we want, to things we believe are beyond our control.
For example. John has been in the same job for the last 10 years. He thinks anybody should be happy to have weekends off, make a competitive salary, and have great benefits, and an early retirement package. But something deep inside John feels like there’s got to be more to life than the job he is doing. He keeps telling himself that he needs to stay in his predictable job to provide for his family and to keep everything status quo. That way there is no significant risk, and in just twenty more years he can retire at an early age. John is where he is at because of the way he thinks.
As the years click by John becomes more and more dissatisfied with his life. Deep down he always wanted to start his own business and do what he does when he is alone. That is drawings of buildings and design architecture. John continues to dream more about being an architect and drawing beautiful homes, skyscrapers, and bridges that would have his creative stamp on them. He begins to take architectural classes at night, as a hobby he says. His wife is supportive of his pastime but keeps reminding him that he has a good job with a steady income, and great benefits. Increasingly John is not happy deep down inside but continues to rationalize his decision to stay in his current job. He reads about renowned architects that designed massive skyscrapers, and how they innovated and created designs that have not been done before.
Sharing with a friend about his love for architecture, his friend challenged him to think about why he was not pursuing this work. John stated the same reasoning that he repeated over and over for the last 10 years. His wise friend shared that instead of making excuses for not going after your dream, you need to change the way you think about your dream. The friend shared it was not the steady income your job provides, or the benefits you receive, or the securities you feel for your family.
You are holding yourself back from your dream, not your wife, or your family, or the job you’re in now. It is the way you are thinking. John, you are where you’re at today because of you. If you are not happy where you are at in life today, then you need to change your thinking about your dream. You must put your legs to it and take the first steps to achieve your dream of being an architect. John began to change the way he was thinking, instead of saying why I can’t, he began to say why he could be an architect and have my dream. When John’s thinking began to change, he saw opportunities that he had never realized before. He could get a new job as an apprentice in an architectural company and make as much money as he was making in his present job. He decided to take his architectural studies more seriously, to work toward a degree in architecture. Within the next 5 to 10 years he could visualize many opportunities to reach his dream of being an architect and developing and building beautiful buildings in cities around the world.
What are you thinking about, dreaming about? How does your thinking hold you back from your dream? How do you need to change the way you think in order to achieve your greatest potential as a person and live your passion, live your dream?
Your thinking doesn’t change….. unless you change it.
