recreatingreality.com

Our mothers have often told us as children to “mind our manners.”  We are very familiar with the phrase.  Several years ago I was told to “mind the gap.”  Admittedly, I had to ask for an explanation.  The little phrase has become so important in my life that it is almost mandatory that I share it with others.

When we were children we had dreams of becoming a archaeologist or a pharmacist (two of my dreams) or maybe a fireman or a policeman for little boys.  As we entered high school our dreams changed perhaps.  We began dreaming of our professional futures.  Some of us dreamed of working in a chemistry lab while others dreamed of becoming a teacher.  Those were our early passions and dreams.

Now, look at where you are today.  Have you pursued your dreams or have you settled for what life handed you?  All too many of us have “settled.”  The difference between our dreams and our realities is similar to surfing the big waves versus treading water to stay afloat.

The gap is the difference between our goals and dreams and our realities.  In some cases, the gap between life and dream is small.  In other cases we just let go of our dreams.  We lost sight of everything we wanted to do or become.

However, the good news is that it is never too late to change direction.  We can always begin to close the gap.  But, we must have the courage to face the truth.  We must not dismiss our dreams as unattainable no matter our age.

One of the beauties of life is that we can determine exactly what we do day to day.  Of course, some of us are going to complain about our present circumstances.  We are going to say that we have families that are dependent on us.  We are going to say that we cannot afford to go back to school or that we are too old.  We can come up with any number of excuses to justify why we must stay in our present reality.

If you have the courage to face the truth, you will be forced to admit that excuses only satisfy those who make them.  Think about your excuses for letting go of your dreams.  They are excuses, nothing more.  That is not to say that it would have been easy to follow your dreams or your life goals.  However, in the end you made the decision to be where you are today.

You can make the decision to change the direction of your life.  You can make that decision today.  You can set goals and begin to achieve them.  Of course, there may be more challenges today than yesterday.  Everyday that you don’t “mind the gap” the challenge gets a little bigger and a little harder and the gap becomes a little larger.

Take a day to reflect on where you thought you would be today and where you are.  Are you satisfied with today?  If not, perhaps, just perhaps today is the day to begin bridging the gap.