Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Stick and Move. Stick and Move. (works with dreams too)

In the 1800's anyone in England who unsucessfully attempted suicide faced the death penalty.


Of course killing someone for trying to kill themselves is absurd. The Britsh legal system was basically saying, "I'm sorry sir, you failed to die, so you're gonna have to die". This cracks me up.

As morbid as it sounds, I love reading this. It let's me know that I fit right in with rest of the crazies in this world. It let's me know that crazy didn't start yesterday. We've been nuts for as long as we've been walking around upright (and probably before that). But it also reinforces one of my basic thoughts on life: "If at first you don't succeed, the government will help you (as long as it involves your death)". No wait that's not the part of my philosophy I wanted to focus on. The part I wanted to focus on was the part that states : "If you set goals and then strive for them you will be successful (even if these successes come in a drastically different form than you initially envisioned)".

I am a successful singer/songwriter. I can say that because the definition of "success" is one that I individually give a definition to. I'm sure by some folk's gauge I'm a highly unsuccessful singer/songwriter. The beauty of the situation is since I have become successful to myself, other people's gauge of my success is not that important to me.



There are some goals and dreams I had as a young man that I have not reached and I will never reach. This may seem negative or bad but it actually is not. Now that I am a little older I see that virtually all of these youthful goals that I missed were actually not the things I should have been striving for anyway.

I have accomplished dozens of my biggest goals and I've seen dream after dream come true. I realize in retrospect that these dreams and goals were the most fulfilling of my initial dreams and goals. These were the ones that mattered. In addition, my path has twisted and turned in such a way that I developed new dreams and goals which I have subsequently seen come to fruition. These dreams and goals were so far out of reach that I didn't even know how to dream them when I started out. 

What I am trying to say is, although I believe dreaming and setting goals are vitally important to being successful, I think it is important to realize that this act isn't a "set it and forget it" type of action. The act of dreaming and aspiring to achieve is a fluid mosaic. It bends and warps and changes with time just like we do as individuals. 

So the list of dreams I had at the age of 16 would only partially overlap with the list of dreams I have today. I believe this is a natural thing and I believe all people encounter this. 

It's encouraging to me that there isn't an unchanging measuring stick that was set in place by myself at the age of 16.  If that was the situation, the rest of my life would either reach the "success line" or it wouldn't. I believe this scenario would leave anyone with a sad later life. After the goals and dreams were either achieved or not achieved the person could consider life either a success or failure......then what? They would have the remainder of their life to just kind of...wither.

I was a fairly level headed, adjusted 16 year old and I will happily admit that there is NO WAY whatsoever that I could have predicted where I was at age 20, 25, 30,.. Without this knowledge how could I have possibly been able to put in place any relevant goals and dreams for my life going forward from here.

What I mean is, I believe when we all set lists of dreams and goals we should also realize that this list requires a lifetime of constant assessment and amendment.

I think it is great that our dreams and goals change as we move along. I think it's great that our "success line" therefore changes as well. 

I believe If each of us want to be the best we can be and if each of us want to have the most fullfillment in the rest of our lives, we must make a list of dreams and goals for TODAY. This list should be relevant to tomorrow. We need a current list of dreams and goals. This list should have no link to the list you had at the age of 14, or , 17, or whatever. If the current list and the list from your younger days overlap that's fine, but consider that overlap to be due to chance. The only goals and dreams that matter are the dreams and goals you have for the future. You are a different person than you were at 14 years old. You wouldn't try to fit into the pants you had at the age of 14, then why would you try to fit your life into the set of goals and dreams you had then?


Make new dreams. Make them now. Then go get em.

1 comment:

  1. Dude, right on... That's something I've come to realize myself lately... I've basically accomplished everything I envisioned at 16 - recording studio, making a living playing music etc... That's all could see at 16. Now, at 44, what?? It's scary and exciting at the same time. Leaving that comfort zone to do "something else". Sticking to music I guess, but in what form?? I guess I'll cast my line upon the water and see what comes up!

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