A thought by Bob Goff, from his book, Dream Big (Kindle Locations 717-718). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)
And there will be push back on our dreams.
Bob says, “If the front door is locked, you can walk away or look for a window that’s ajar to crawl through. Some of your ambitions are going to take time or a little creativity to Figure out. Don’t quit on them. Wake up to new ways to get there, then do what it takes so you’re ready when your time comes.”
He goes on, “Guess what? For years you’ve already been quietly curating your life without knowing it. You know what works and what doesn’t. What lights you up and what bums you out. What lasts and what disappears. We need to figure out what you’ve come up with so far so we can figure out what to do next. Trust what you’ve learned already; let it be your Sherpa.
“Once again, the best engine to drive our ambitions is a strong sense of purpose. There’s nothing really important about the vacation or the new pair of kicks or the convertible. These are things we might want for a time and might even enjoy for a while. They’re the short game though. Don’t confuse them with your ambitions. The long game is where your best ambitions reside. When you think you’ve found an ambition you want, figure out why you want it and whether you want it badly enough to do what it takes to get it.
“We’re all looking for meaning, but it’s often lost behind a hedge of distractions, hurts, and disappointments. Figure out what these have been for you. Merely existing doesn’t satisfy most of us, so we pursue inputs that ultimately distract us from our lack of direction. At some point, though, even the distractions aren’t enough. Or someone else screws it up for us, and we end up wounded and lost again. The fix isn’t easy, but it’s this simple: We need to replace what we’ve settled for with what we’ve been longing for. We need to find ambitions worthy of our time and the effort it will take to pursue them.”
He later said, “A long time ago, a friend told me there’s a difference between whittling and carving. One is just killing time, the other is laden with purpose. Keep carving. Engage the process; don’t stifle it. Go ahead and want the corndog and the surfboard and the date to prom. There is absolutely nothing inherently wrong with wanting those things. Just be sure they’re not the only ambitions you have. Take a look at what Jesus had on His list of ambitions and lift a few onto yours. His list wasn’t very long, but it changed the world forever. He was a master at choosing ambitions that were worth it.”
And that is also what we really want, isn’t it?
