There Is So Much More...

If there is one thing that I have become convinced of at the young age of 27 is that there is simply so much more to this amazing thing called "life". I say this not to draw any unnecessary attention to the things in life that you don't have but to the things in life that you should have.  The statistics show that only 30% of Americans actually feel that they are living, and or ,have lived a life that utilizes all of there talents and giftings while appealing to their passions and maximizing their potential. What does this mean?? That 7 out of every 10 people will suffer from a life that is defined by unsatisfaction, regret, disappointment, and overall some feeling of failure. Why?

Why are we not living the lives that we are capable of living. Sure such words as discipline and choices play a part of the process but no matter what you have or haven't done today there is always a new tomorrow.  Some of the most successful people in the world failed miserably multiple times before achieving great success or fulfillment in their lives. In fact, most progress in life is built on the premise of failure.  Think about it, when you were a baby how many times did you try to crawl before you actual could, how many times did you have to fall before you could stand, how many times did you stumble before you could walk, and how many cute sounds did your mouth form before an actual word was produced.  What's even more amazing is, that as an infant, every effort towards a new goal is never considered a failure no matter what result that effort produces.You are not disappointed at your child for not walking the first time they try but rather overwhelmed with excitement because they took their first steps.

 So if failure can produce progress then it is not fair to credit failure with an unfulfilled life.  So what truly lies behind the alarming statistic of only 30% of people being fulfilled with their life? I personally believe that this number exists because we have become a people that have lost the ability to dream.  Think about it, when you were a little kid what was the one question that was always asked??? "What do you want to be when you grow up"- and any answer was a great answer - no matter how impossible. Then when you graduated from high school that questions begins to change into, "here is what you can possibly be based on what you did or choose to do" if you go or don't go to college, have good grades, are not pregnant, have not dropped out, etc.,etc.  Then if you make it to college and through college you are now limited by what you have studied and, for the majority, the financial burden of students loans for the next 10 years of your life.  Now, that childhood question has evolved from a question geared towards your dreams and surrounded by limitless possibilities - into a confining life sentence of "here are the only things possible for you to be, now that you are grown up".  And in this single statement your ability to dream is lost - because the world says that your dreams are no longer possible.

But what if you don't buy into to this process?  What if you don't want to become another statistic.  What if you actually began to dream again? What if you pursued every dream that you have? What would your life look like?  What would you do diffently every day? And what would happen if you celebrated every step and every effort towards your dreams no matter what the results were - just as an infant walking for the first time. If you dare to dream again and start pursuing those dreams today....I believe that this amazing thing called "your life" will never be the same again.