Far too often we live in fear, fear of the future, fear of quitting a dreadful job, or of leaving a relationship that is no longer constructive. We come up with excuses about how it’s just not the right time or we try to lie to ourselves about what we truly want. The question is, why? Why do we wake up every day and continue to live a life that discourages us? It is almost as if deep down we know that we aren’t being true to ourselves yet we do nothing to change our ways. Fear keeps us from pursuing the life we know we’re capable of living.
Often times the driving factor of our fear is that we get caught in this idea that there is only one track to becoming successful. We tend to get stuck on the conveyer belt. We go to college, get a well-paying job, get married, have kids, and slowly sell our souls in the process. Sure, for some, that may sound like the ideal life but there are those of us whose ideal life would be filled with traveling, writing and simply living.
The problem tends to be that anybody who veers off course is ostracized by society and is considered an unmotivated hippy. That thought may seem a little melodramatic but fear of being labeled a freeloader, of being told your wrong, or of being told you’ll never make it stops so many people from pursuing their true dreams. As a collective group, it’s high time that we stand up and say, “You know what, I dream because I know I can achieve my goals. Who are you to tell me I can’t do it?” It’s high time those people who tell the dreamers we’re wrong are the ones who are stopped in their tracks.
No one should discourage somebody from pursuing his or her dreams. Whether it is traveling, writing, painting, acting, modeling, or dancing go after your dream. Society needs to realize is that because of the stigma placed on anything considered out of the box such as veganism, skipping college, trying to make it out west in Los Angeles or up north in New York City ruins so many passionate people’s self-esteem. Your backhanded words cause us to constantly question our actions, our dreams, ourselves. Nobody should have to question if pursuing the life they want to live is the right idea. We make our own futures and our own destiny so for all the dreamers remember the brilliant words of Babe Ruth, “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.”
