A goal is a dream with a deadline. I forgot who said that...but it's true! Think of all the people we have known throughout our lives (including ourselves!) who were really good at dreaming all sorts of dreams....yet didn't achieve even a few of them. Well, that's how it can go right? We all know how to talk up whatever it is we say we are "going" to do; actually doing it is another issue entirely.
When I was a kid, there were other kids I grew up around who I believed would make it big one day. Grant it, everyone's definition of what "big" means differs; I interpreted it as the kids who would grow up to have happy and successful adult lives.
For example, there was Belina. (Not her real name of course!) Belina came to my grade school in about 4th or 5th grade. I can remember watching her comb her long, waist-length hair in the mirror of the locker room during gym class. She was absolutely confident, beautiful, and a fashion diva before we even knew what any of those things were or meant. All the girls wanted to be Belina's friend after she landed in our midst.
As time went on, I got to witness what it was like for someone who was adored pretty much by everyone in our grade. Both the girls...and the boys...found Belina absolutely charming. She could say no wrong, do no wrong, and was always the center of attention in any space she inhabited.
As the years went by and we entered our "junior high" years, I noticed that Belina's core group of friends consisted mainly of the kids who were "troubled" (to put it mildly). And yes, I was among that group, although on the periphery. Belina did NOT hang with our grade's smartest girls or boys; she instead could be found up a tree making out with so-and-so on a Friday night after sneaking out of her house once it went dark. Not that I didn't want to be found up a tree myself...but I was too fat to climb so all bets were off in that regard :-P Why Belina and her group of besties (girls) ever tolerated me at that time probably had more to do with me doing their homework for them more than anything else. ;-)
Once we entered high school, I lost track of Belina. I really don't remember seeing her much as our high school class totaled over 700 kids at that time. I did see Belina a few times after we graduated, but only by chance when it occurred.
It wasn't until decades later that I heard about "what happened" to Belina. Not unlike many of our other childhood classmates, Belina made several bad choices which led her through a series of very difficult and tragic consequences. Alcohol, drugs, wrong men, even wrong-er "career" choices; you name it, Belina chose the "feel good now" route to living her life.
Because Belina was so smart, I really don't know what she could have become had she pursued college (and sobriety!) after we graduated from high school. I know she must have had her dreams; however, her deadlines were clearly sketchy at best. As of right now, I don't know if she's even still alive. Rumor had it she died several years ago; others have said she's living somewhere out of state still unmarried and no kids. Who knows? All I know is that Belina was someone I authentically admired and felt a kinship to for a very long time.
We are all worthy of our best dreams translating to goals that we can achieve...regardless of our age. Even Agatha Christie, the most famous mystery writer on the planet, didn't become "famous" until she was a middle aged woman. JK Rowling....(Kathie J. help me out here sister!) Inotherwords, it is never too late to identify your dream, attach a deadline to it, and make it a goal you HAVE achieved be it this year---or within your own lifetime.
And never forget, if you fell down yesterday, stand up today!
Happy 2019!
When I was a kid, there were other kids I grew up around who I believed would make it big one day. Grant it, everyone's definition of what "big" means differs; I interpreted it as the kids who would grow up to have happy and successful adult lives.
For example, there was Belina. (Not her real name of course!) Belina came to my grade school in about 4th or 5th grade. I can remember watching her comb her long, waist-length hair in the mirror of the locker room during gym class. She was absolutely confident, beautiful, and a fashion diva before we even knew what any of those things were or meant. All the girls wanted to be Belina's friend after she landed in our midst.
As time went on, I got to witness what it was like for someone who was adored pretty much by everyone in our grade. Both the girls...and the boys...found Belina absolutely charming. She could say no wrong, do no wrong, and was always the center of attention in any space she inhabited.
As the years went by and we entered our "junior high" years, I noticed that Belina's core group of friends consisted mainly of the kids who were "troubled" (to put it mildly). And yes, I was among that group, although on the periphery. Belina did NOT hang with our grade's smartest girls or boys; she instead could be found up a tree making out with so-and-so on a Friday night after sneaking out of her house once it went dark. Not that I didn't want to be found up a tree myself...but I was too fat to climb so all bets were off in that regard :-P Why Belina and her group of besties (girls) ever tolerated me at that time probably had more to do with me doing their homework for them more than anything else. ;-)
Once we entered high school, I lost track of Belina. I really don't remember seeing her much as our high school class totaled over 700 kids at that time. I did see Belina a few times after we graduated, but only by chance when it occurred.
It wasn't until decades later that I heard about "what happened" to Belina. Not unlike many of our other childhood classmates, Belina made several bad choices which led her through a series of very difficult and tragic consequences. Alcohol, drugs, wrong men, even wrong-er "career" choices; you name it, Belina chose the "feel good now" route to living her life.
Because Belina was so smart, I really don't know what she could have become had she pursued college (and sobriety!) after we graduated from high school. I know she must have had her dreams; however, her deadlines were clearly sketchy at best. As of right now, I don't know if she's even still alive. Rumor had it she died several years ago; others have said she's living somewhere out of state still unmarried and no kids. Who knows? All I know is that Belina was someone I authentically admired and felt a kinship to for a very long time.
We are all worthy of our best dreams translating to goals that we can achieve...regardless of our age. Even Agatha Christie, the most famous mystery writer on the planet, didn't become "famous" until she was a middle aged woman. JK Rowling....(Kathie J. help me out here sister!) Inotherwords, it is never too late to identify your dream, attach a deadline to it, and make it a goal you HAVE achieved be it this year---or within your own lifetime.
And never forget, if you fell down yesterday, stand up today!
Happy 2019!