Chase Your Dreams. They Won’t Chase You.
2024 is over.
As I plan out my goals for 2025. So I can make major moves towards my dreams. I am realizing what I accomplished this year is impressive.
Like every year 2024 gave us exciting highs, terrifying lows, and curves that no one saw coming. From a total solar eclipse. The presidential election in the US. The olympics in Paris.
For me 2024 pushed me to a place I never thought I’d be in with confidence that is growing by the day.
Everyday I am growing in my confidence in leading and teaching others. As well being confident in going after what I want.
Two goals I had for 2024 was to stop letting my fears stop me and to find a dream to work towards.
Don’t Be So Afraid To Fail You Don’t Live
I have a bad habit.
It’s not drinking too much. It’s not eating unhealthy food. It’s not gambling.
It’s letting people pleasing stop me.
Ryan Holiday gave a piece of advice in his end of the year post:“Escape the most expensive habit”. Eliminate the habit that is costing you the most. For him its anxiety for me it is the fear of failing.
For me people pleasing is not about not causing friction.
It’s the fear of hearing: “Well you tried…”, “why did you bother?” and “That’s a waste of time”. We want the validation from others. We want to hear someone say: good job, amazing, wow, congrats. We want to hear that we accomplished something great and others see it too. No one wants the disappointing comments.
In 2024, I stopped letting the comments and opinions of others stop me from doing what I want. I do ask for advice and help. I do take constructive comments seriously. What I do not do is give up because someone else doesn’t understand what I am trying to do.
When my grandmother died in 2023, I promised in her eulogy that I would plant a garden just for her. Despite some plants not surviving the winter. And the major problem of the area having more deer than any other animal. I have continued to plant more flowers. Steadily working towards a garden that will tell all visitors that it is okay to slow down and relax.
The old me would have given up because a few plants died. And a few others where eaten by deer. Not in 2024. I adapted and kept going. Both failing and learning are apart of every journey.
Letting your fears stop you. Means you don’t get to live. It means you wake up one day to the realization of how much time has passed and you haven’t lived.
Don’t Forget the Dream
Late in 2023 a person who was influential in my life told me to never forget my dream.
There was one problem at the time. I had no idea what it was.
Honestly. I had no idea what my dream was.
For my whole life I have always followed the advice of others. So much so I have given up on dreaming. Thinking that dreams never come true.
I was wrong. Dreams do come true. But they don’t chase you or happen by luck. They happen by you chasing them. You have to go after your dream.
One year later. I have dreams I want to chase. I own a woodlot where I can build a two bedroom cabin on as place for me to escape to and to rent out to others to enjoy. I want to continue to build a laser engraving business where I can create products that will inspire others. I want to work towards establishing a food forest and gardens where there will be colour and textures year round.
Most of all I have a dream of living my life for me. Not to be living the life others think I should live.
Two of my goals for the coming 2025 is to rebuild the road on my woodlot so I can find a place to build my cabin. My other goal is to be selling enough of my products and furniture flips that I will be breaking even on every sale. A bonus goal is to start researching on a project that might lead me back into academia for the PhD that has been a looming question mark for years now.
At the end of 2025 I want to be in the same position I am right now.
I want to be proud of what I have accomplished. I want to know I have spent another year learning and growing. So the next year I can face it with even more confidence in my abilities and to speak up for what I want not what others want for me.