Am I a dreamer

I saw this wonderful sign today and it got me thinking. 

Am I dreaming or taking action? 

Which of these people are you?

On approaching adulthood

“I believe that everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise.”

                                                                                                               Margaret Atwood

This quote is written on a card on my desk. It was a gift from a friend who often hears me utter the phrase, ‘When I grow up..”

Well, in a worrying turn of events, I fear that I may, without me having even noticed, grown up.

Let us examine the evidence.

1. I live with a boy
2. I pay bills like ‘rent’ ‘council tax’ and ‘electricity.’
3. I have a dedicated ring-binder that contains the paperwork related to the above.
4. I have a real professional job where I am required to wear smart clothing and keep my hair neat.
5. I listen to radio 2.

On Life

Which leads me to the important question – what do I want to be when I grow up? I’ve included this image before, but I love it so much and it seemed relevant to include it again. Happy. I want to be happy. 

Someone who knows first hand about helping people to find out what this means to them is Michelle Woodhall, who likes to dance, has an excellent fringe and whose business is all about helping people discover the life they want to live.

She’s a life planner, which is different to a life coach or a councillor, “I support my clients to work out what their dreams are in a gentle and effective way. Rather than focusing on goals, I work to uncover passions and dreams and then find ways to incorporate the things that would make them happy into their life.”

She tells me that most people know deep down ‘what they want from life’ but most are putting it off until they retire.  

UNTIL THEY RETIRE. So, the way things are going, by the time I reach retirement they’ll be no such concept, and even if there is, there’s far too much of a risk I won’t get there – what with all the red meat and good living.

No, I’m definitely not prepared to wait that long, and the way I’m getting on with the office printer, I probably won’t last the week.

So what do I want life to be like when I’m a grown up?

I’d like:

More time outside

The chance to write more

To live near the beach

To see friends and family more often

To travel more

To live in a cottage with wooden floors and a brightly coloured front door

Perhaps with Michelle’s help, I can make it happen. You’ll just have to watch this space.

If you’d like to explore your dreams, feel stuck or fancy doing something different, you should check out Michelle’s website here.

On Starting

As Mark Twain once said, 'Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.”

Nope, that isn’t what I was looking for. Let’s try Pablo Picasso’s version, “Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone.”

Ok, that’s a tad morbid, but it’s more the sentiment I was after.

You see, I have some good people in my life who are out in the world following their dreams. They are my inspiration to try and follow mine.

One friend gave up his well paid, well respected job as an accountant to train as a pilot. Now he’s up there flying his Boeings.

Another friend quit her job in London to travel America and write her book. She’s soon to be a published author.

So you see. Dreams do come true.

But the thing was, they didn’t sit around waiting for lady luck to knock on their door. They started. They shifted from the static to the active. They knew that the only way things would happen was if they initiated them.

So what’s your dream? And more importantly, what on earth are you doing to make it happen?

If your dream is big, then teachers, career advisers and assorted know-it-alls will try to put you off. Do not to listen to them. Follow it. Be ready for the many setbacks and keep the faith.

I dream of being a writer. So I’m writing. I don’t know where this path will lead, but I have started.

I’m pretty confident that it’s impossible to overstate the importance of starting.

You should start too. Whatever it is you want to do, start it. Stop putting it off, and start in some small way.

Today.

And leave the ironing. I’m sure Picasso would agree that you can die with that left undone.