Thursday, March 8, 2007

Relinquishing Dreams and Vanishing Hopes

Can you recall the times when we were kids and asked about our ambitions? Most of us would have shared without batting an eyelid that we would want to be doctors, engineers, scientists or other aspirational professions. Along with that, we would have envisioned the monetary and financial rewards that come along with it. A 10 year old would envision living in a mansion with several luxury cars and by the time he reaches the age of 20, the vision would have been downgraded to probably a semi-detached house and a luxury car. Fast forward another 10 years and the same individual would probably have realigned his or her expectations to owning a terrace house and rationalize that a national car is not that bad after all.

The underlying question is what causes the change in dreams and hopes? How can the same individual be contented to downgrade their own dreams and hopes as time passes by? Is it collective wisdom acquired over the years leading the person to be more realistic or is the individual simply giving up on his or her dreams? The answer could sway either way depending on how the individual would want to view it. Most would argue that the dreams they had earlier were unrealistic and they were too naive back when they had set the goals. Very few would actually acknowledge the fact that they had chose to give up on themselves along the way.

I know of many people who wanted to earn their first million by the time they are in their mid-20s. Sadly so, very few made it. The only person I know of who made it actually earned his first million by the time he was 21 - 4 years ahead of his initial goal. As I tried to ask myself why is it that this one person turned out so much better than his goal whilst others failed so miserably, I attribute this to the fact that many very quickly relinquish their dreams as they find that the journey is not as smooth sailing as they had hoped for and along the way, all the initial hopes that they had vanished into thin air. The ones who actually do make it are probably the hard headed, stubborn individuals who never gave up despite having multiple hard knocks. They are the ones who ruthlessly drive towards their goals and knew no shame. All they had in mind was the vision and as one plan failed, they would continuously seek alternative options that would bring them towards their goals.

I have utmost respect for the individuals who made it as they have demonstrated that nothing can get in the way if one is determined enough to drive towards their goals. This is the power of dreams! This is what differentiates the “wannabes” and the real “go-getters”. Everyone would have their own dreams and hopes and along with that, all individuals are gifted with the power to decide if they could achieve that. This is what many fail to realize and as a majority start coming up with excuses as to why the dreams are not possible, the ones who are conscious about the fact that their own destiny is in their hands are the ones who would eventually emerge as victors. Prior to blaming failure to other factors in time to come, it would be best to remind ourselves that we had the power to decide and it was us who relinquished our own dreams and let our hopes vanish.

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