I am feeling particularly thankful this morning, as the year begins to wind down and the holidays are upon us. The season of slowing down, spending time with our loved ones, and escaping from the routine is always a welcome distraction. This year, though, things feel different. Because my husband and I have spent much of the current year in reflection mode: reflecting on our families, our careers, our finances, and most importantly, on how we are living, as opposed to how our “dream” life would look like to us. We have talked at length about how blessed we are, how quickly time has passed, how our initial goals and visions have changed, and how we would like to see our future play out.
The most extraordinary trait about my husband above all, is his vision to take a dream, and make it happen. In fact, “A goal without a plan is just a dream,” is a quote he shared with me that has touched me over and over this year. It is simple and true. Above all, it is the way that he has always lived his life, and the philosophy that I have embraced to live our life together going forward.
So my hope is that 2013 will be a year out of the ordinary. The year that we risked it all to beginning making our dream life happen. And not to just “hope” for it, but to work diligently for it without distraction.
The other day, I shared one of our main goals for 2013 with a family member, and her reply hit me: “You are so lucky that you are able to do that!” People often believe that if you do something drastically different, you must have fallen on some luck to put you in that situation. But the reality is that following your “dreams” usually involves taking the biggest risks, is the most unpopular idea, and makes your loved ones think that you have truly “lost your marbles”. We are lucky, but not because we’ve won the lotto, or been gifted a fortune, but because we believe in the power of focusing, working really hard for what we want, and being willing to take some risks.
So as we wind down 2012, we have some exciting changes that we are planning for 2013. No matter how many excuses people make for not “following their dreams”, the reality is that we have to put ourselves out there, take chances, and make our dreams happen!