Fingerprint Dreams

By Aron Daniels

Everyone has dreams. Not the kind we have at night when we lay our heads down in bed, but the bigger life kind. All of us have passing thoughts and desires about that one thing that we would love to do if circumstances and our list of obligations were different. Maybe after that next thing, you’ll start that dream.

One of the hurtles we have to accomplishing our dreams is how we think our dreams may be perceived by others. We all innately care about what other people will think of us because we are social creatures. What if I really decide to go after that dream and people don’t like it? That dream is too weird, they’ll hate it. We have internal fear-voices that try to talk us out of those things that could be, or as Shel Silverstein put it, our What-ifs.

The thing about our dreams is that they are unique to us. They are exactly our shape and nobody else was made to fulfill them. They are our fingerprints, and we were made specially to walk into those dreams. The most fulfilling things we can do in life is to look at those dreams and decide that even if they are not popular, they are something that we are going to pursue. Stop worrying about what other people will think and decide to turn your dreams into goals. Start taking action towards that thing. When you move into your tiny-house, start your food-truck, go get that degree in dance, draw that comic book, start that online store, adopt that child, learn Chinese, build a greenhouse, start that job in a new field, or anything that is in your heart, you are going to be so glad you didn’t stop because someone else didn’t understand. We need to live rich lives because if not, what’s the point? Decide what it is that is going to bring depth to your life and start working towards it.

Today, put some steps toward your goal on your calendar. Watch those little steps lead to new contentment. That contentment will melt those fears of what other people think right away.