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Being Well

Choose your dreams

By August 16, 20123 Comments

Isn’t Mo Farah great? A real success, whichever way you look at it. Winning both the 10,000m and the 5,000m in the same Olympic Games is the result of years of hard work, dedication and focus, and a great deal of natural talent.

But when Mo was a kid he wanted to be a footballer. That’s what he dreamed of, and even now he is one of Arsenal’s biggest fans. And as Brendan Foster remarked, he has seen Mo play football and he would never have been any good. Mo is a sporting hero, a real winner, but the first step on his path to success was making the right decision about which sport to pursue.

In fact, we are all winners. There is something that every person excels at; that, perhaps, could make them a world champion. But if we don’t make the right choice – switch our dreams from football to athletics – we’ll never reach that place.

It’s easy to think “it’s too late for me” and feel locked in to a career choice made as a teenager. Of course, in our 40s or 50s it wouldn’t be realistic to want to emulate Mo and win gold at the Olympics for running. But………don’t rule out those aspirations entirely; after all, equestrian medals were won by competitors over 50, and if athletics is your passion there are races for veterans. What really stops us from reaching our dreams, or even fully accepting that we have those dreams, are those devilish self-limiting beliefs, which tell us we can’t switch careers, pursue our passion or expand our hobby.

Are you breathing? Then it’s not too late to make a different, more authentic choice. Try saying “I can; I’m not sure how, but I can!” As a child, all I wanted to do was write. I worked as a journalist in my 20s but when life (divorce) got in the way and I wanted to freelance I didn’t have anything of my own to say. For 25 years I wove my way through a handful of other careers, like Mo trying to be a footballer. Luckily, being older isn’t a disadvantage for a writer; it’s really helpful! So now, finally, I’m shutting out the “you can’t do that!” voices and living my dream.

A good first step if you’re not sure what your dream is, or if you are but you don’t know what to do next, is to read “Screw work, let’s play” by John Williams, or visit his website. You’ll find some really practical advice and encouragement.

We can all be winners, if we make the right choice. Resurrect your dream, or find a new one, and encourage your children to dream. Dreams do come true, but as the song says, “If you don’t have a dream, how are you gonna have a dream come true?” You may need to revise your choices, but if you need to replace your dream, don’t replace it with the first thing that comes to mind, like I did so many times – find another dream, like Mo!

3 Comments

  • What a great, uplifting blog post, Harriet.
    I am one of those people who has switched careers endlessly, studying to get professional qualifications then once in the profession, quickly realise i am yet again a round peg in a square hole.
    This last year has given me enforced downtime and what a gift it has been. I have started painting again and it gives me absolute congruence. You always wanted to be a writer, I wanted to illustrate childrens books but was told early on it was a fickle career choice, no security, little work….

    So I qualified as a HR professional, ugh. I qualified as a social worker, bigger ugh. I qualified as a teacher, biggest ugh of all. Then I got cancer and I got out my paint box. I paint because I can, it brings me joy, it makes me see this beautiful fragile world. It feels right.

    So now I spend my time fund-raising, painting and doing all I can to inspire other women being held in cancer world hell.

    We all have our own North Star, some of us eventually get the courage to follow it.

    You are a wonderful writer Harriet, keep following that star.

  • Great post! I couldn’t agree more – some people will feel the inspiraton for 2 weeks, then do nothing about it. Others will feel the same inspiration, but turn it into a decision to act followed by action.

    It’s a choice to be made, that’s for sure, but it’s *our* choice, and that’s what opens up so many possibilities!

    Cheers, Gordon

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