"Pick a Dream, Any Dream"

Here is an inspiring excerpt from a book I'm reading about following your dreams and determination. It's particularly pertinent to all of you "aged" viewers.;)

"One of my most unforgettable clients was a sparkling sixty-eight-year-old woman named Elizabeth. She was about to take an extended trip to Africa and wanted to be sure her children and grandchildren would be okay while she was gone. I couldn't keep the delight out of my voice when I realized and said, "You're going to Egypt. To work." She grinned ear to ear. It seems she had just received her college degree in archaeology and so impressed her professor that he invited her on a dig he'd been planning for six years. "I've been fascinated by archaeology since I was a child. I don't know why," she told me....She went on to say that at the time she graduated from high school, there was no money for her to go to college to pursue her passion. "Besides, my parents told me I wasn't smart enough for college, I'd just be wasting my time. My late husband must have told me a thousand times that a woman's place was in the home. And my children and grandchildren have been telling me for years that I'm too old for all this." I asked her how she managed not to let all of that negative input discourage her. She winked and said, "Easy. I didn't believe them."

The Exercize:

"...write down every bit of determinism [the author's term for 'that ridiculous list of purported "truths" about ourselves that a few careless people use to try to limit our self-confidence and predetermine our failure'] you've ever been told or ever told yourself, anything and everything that, as you sit there today, makes you feel unable, limited, less than, and incapable. Then, take that list, shred it, and throw it into the nearest garbage can where it belongs, while you remind yourself silently or out loud, 'Sorry, I'm not buying it anymore. I was created by God, and God doesn't make junk."

The author then encourages the reader to write out every dream they've ever had for themselves, no matter "how big or small or silly or unlikely they seem." Write them without judging and then cross out the ones that you don't care about anymore. The dream that is the easiest to accomplish at the present time, that is the one you should do first. Then put a star beside the one you accomplished and move on to the next one. "Whether you end up with one star or a whole page full of them, be proud of what you accomplished...."

"I was created by God, and God doesn't make junk." If you are tempted to criticize yourself often, then this phrase is for you! It should be written in huge bold letters across your wall and tattooed across your forehead! Say it to yourself over and over until at last you believe every word. I think this has to be one of my favorite quotes of all time. ~

Browne, Sylvia. Blessings from the Other Side. Lindsay Harrison. New York: New American Library, 2002.