Sunday, October 25, 2009

Forgotten Your Dreams?

I am always looking for ways to help me think about the future and to dream. I have never been very good at dreaming. When I was a little girl and my abuse was severe, I used to dream of living somewhere else, dream of running away to a safe place, but not dreams of doing something fun for me. Fun just wasn't in my agenda back in those days. Then as I got away from home and felt more safe, I noticed that I dreamed of things like...make sure that I marry the right man, at the right time, for the right reason and in the right  place, I dreamed of having a home that was safe and the ability to raise healthy and happy children, that was a dream that drove me for many years. Then Cancer hit and my ability to dream started fading fast, rarely did I think of the future...I was just trying to figure out how to survive each day.

One of the things that I counsel other survivors about now is the ability to somehow be able to enjoy life again after cancer. To learn how to dream again and to be happy. Having something to plan for and to look forward to, is a very healthy thing. When I received this email about DREAMS, I thought it was very appropriate for how I struggle at times, it encouraged me to dream more, I am still learning that. I hope when you read it that it might spur you on to dream big and enjoy life more each day. Good night dear friends!

"DON'T BE PUSHED BY YOUR PROBLEMS. BE LED BY YOUR DREAMS" 

An Excerpt from: Even Eagles Need a Push
by David McNally and Mac Anderson
Forgotten Your Dreams?
After a change in head coaches at the University of South Carolina earlier in his career, Lou Holtz, then a defensive coach, found himself unemployed.
"I was unemployed for over a month, a long time for someone like me who had worked since he was nine.  I felt very defeated. Our savings account was down to four figures: around $10.95.  With a growing family to support, I was feeling pressure.  It would have been an unbearable period, if not for my wife.  She could not have been any more supportive or encouraging.  Beth never complained.  She went to work as an x-ray technician to help keep us in groceries.  She also brought me the motivational book, The Magic of Thinking Big, by David Schwartz, hoping it would help me feel less depressed.
In his chapter on goals, Schwartz writes that anyone who is bored by life has probably forgotten his or her dreams.  He invites readers to get back in touch with them.  As a first step, we are asked to list all the things we have ever wanted to accomplish:  I had a lot of time on my hands, so I took out a pencil and paper and divided my list into five categories:


As a husband/father
Spiritually
Professionally
Financially
Simply for excitement
It was the in fifth category that I let my imagination run wild.  Here are some of the things I included:
Jump out of an airplane
Land a jet fighter on an aircraft carrier
Travel the ocean in a submarine
Go white-water rafting on the Snake River at Hells Canyon
Be on the Tonight Show, starring Johnny Carson
Attend a White House dinner with the president
Meet the Pope
Go on an African safari
Become a scratch golfer and play the top 50 golf courses in the world
Run with the bulls in Pamplona (provided I was matched with a much slower person)
And on it went.

  I had 107 goals on my original list.  Suddenly, I was looking at my life differently and was excited about the future.  When I told Beth that I was determined we do all of them, she said, "Gee, that's great, honey, but why don't you add "I want to find a job."  Good note-the list expanded to 108. So far, we've managed to achieve 102 of those dreams-including dining at the White House and meeting the Pope.  We're still working on the others.  From the moment I made that list, we became participants, rather than spectators, in our life.  You do the same and you'll find you don't want to spend so much time sleeping; you'll be afraid you might miss something! There are 26 other amazing stories in our Even Eagles Need a Push book.  So, come explore the power of encouragement and see how it can change someone's life forever...maybe even your own. (*Excerpted from You Gotta Read This Book, by Jack Canfield and Gary Hendricks)

"KEEP YOUR DREAMS ALIVE. UNDERSTAND TO ACHIEVE ANYTHING REQUIRES FAITH AND BELIEF IN YOURSELF, VISION, HARD WORK, DETERMINATION, AND DEDICATION. REMEMBER ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE."  ~Gail Devers

"THE ONLY THING THAT WILL STOP YOU FROM FULFILLING YOUR DREAMS IS YOU"  ~Tom Bradley

1 comment:

Cheryl said...

I have dreamed since I was a little girl about dancing on stage by myself a dance I choreographed myself in front of the people I love - just got to check that off my list! Thanks for a timely blog post now that I'm in the market for another dream....