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Achieve
Your Dreams, First Step First
By
Patricia Crane, Ph.D.
Be happy with who you are and where you are right now. Abraham Lincoln
once said, “A person is just about as happy as he/she makes up
his/her mind to be.” [Non-sexist language emphasis of author]
Too often, people want to achieve something because they think the achievement
will make them happy, or others will finally respect them, or they can
finally say “I'm OK after all because I did this.” The
exact opposite is true. While there are a variety of blocks that may
keep people from achieving their dreams, the primary one is looking
to something 'out there' to validate you as a person and make
you happy. Happiness comes from the inside. So the first
step to achieving your dreams isn't an action step at all; it's
a being step. You are a human being, and your most important task is
to be happy right here, right now.
You've no doubt heard this refrain in other ways: learn to love
yourself, develop high self-esteem, recognize that the grass is green
right where you are, stay in the moment. And no doubt you intellectually
agree wholeheartedly. But the question is: do you actually live as though
you believe it? When asked, most people will admit that they don't.
It's another concept that's easy to agree with, but not so easy
to actually live. Why the discrepancy?
The discrepancy happens because the old beliefs about what you need
to do or to be OK are so deeply ingrained. In our society, the doing
and achieving are highly valued. But when you truly accept yourself,
you release an enormous energy that was tied up in worrying about whether
you were good enough! Many people have achieved their dreams by doing
something that is contrary to what society dictates. For example, a
harried executive who dreams of a more peaceful life and takes a pay
cut to follow that dream.
A few years ago while traveling in England, my partner Rick and I encountered
the happiest bus driver in the world. (OK, there may be a happier one,
but it would be hard to imagine.) Actually, he was the ticket taker.
In England, they have assistants on buses that take the tickets and
bring around beverages and snacks (which you pay for). This man was
so happy that some of the passengers looked at him as though he were
crazy because it was so unusual to meet someone so jolly in a job most
would consider lowly. However, this man really made our day, and reminded
us that happiness is a state of being and mind.
Heart
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Heart