Don't let your mistakes keep you from achieving your dreams

Sunday, January 14, 2018

6:44 PM

What kind of mistakes keep me from achieving my dreams? 

Time disasters.  Energy disasters.  People disasters. 

All mistakes fit into these three categories. 

Anything can be a time waster.  Most things are time wasters.  It's not a mistake to take care of yourself and rest.  Some people, I'm not naming names, would say that any time not spent on your goals is time wasted.  You have to portion out your day.  You need 8 hours of sleep, give or take a few, at least 30 minutes to an hour of prep time before you start your day and the same amount of time at night before bed, to get sleepy.   An hour of exercise, 30 minutes to shower, an hour to eat, breakfast lunch and dinner.  That takes about 15 hours right there, just spent on equilibrium tasks.  24-15 = 9.  You've got to have work, and that takes about 8 hours a day, minus weekends, where you would probably be doing housework anyway and that leaves you with about an hour.  One hour to fulfill your dreams, unless you are doing it at work.  One hour.  Impossible, right? 

Now all this is theoretical.  I'm pretty much basic about getting things done.  I can get ready in thirty minutes, I've found out.  I don’t exercise.  I sleep late on my days off.  I can eat and do dishes in 15 minutes, practically and watch an episode of Parks and Recreation while I'm doing it.  So generally I have        3 to 4 hours of free time, that I have mostly planned to achieve my dreams. 

So you have managed this free time.  Pretty sweet, huh?  What mistakes can keep me from achieving my dreams?  Being stuck.  Being stuck is a mistake.  Yeah, you heard me.  If you are "always" or if You notice that "always"…something or "never" something the problem is not someone else, it's you.   Because you are the one noting the behavior and seeing it repeated.   Get unstuck.  That's right.  I don't know how you do it, but if you are stuck, get unstuck.  Grease that gasket!  Your dreams and your life depend on it.  Let me put it this way.  Your growth depends on it.  So no one wants you to grow.  Withdraw a little and let others grow on you.  Take a chance on change.  I'm not talking about huge changes, but growth.  You can't even see the change, but something looks a little different. 

What other mistakes can keep you from your dreams?  Distractions from which you can't recover.  Get drunk, have a baby!  I'm not saying this will kill all your dreams, but it certainly will throw a wrench in the works.   Distractions from which you can't recover.  I'm going to give you some examples, which are bad examples, because I have and can recover from them, but writing is an art, not a science, so bear with me.  I sometimes do random things because they feel good at the moment, and don’t think about the consequences.  One time, I decided to do Avon.  Now I have 40 or more books of all ages, sitting in my room, rotting away, while I have one sale, and am awaiting the Avon Fairie to come down and bless me with miracle selling ability and millions of contacts.  I once signed up for an online insurance class.  I think I have a couple days left to study and I read most of the chapters of the book, but no motivation.  And I'm out 160 dollars.  These are pretty average risks, but they have the potential to be distractions from which I can't recover.  I still have to talk to my Avon mentor.  I have so much guilt that I may avoid her for the rest of my life, and I paid money for those brochures, too.  These are little side dreams, little mistakes, that could take you from your main dreams, your main goal.  And if you invest too much into them, they could derail your life forever! 

I want to disclaimer this.  There are some people who go on to give their lives into selling Avon, or insurance, or whatnot, and this isn't automatically bad or evil.  I think I'm really just getting to know what distractions are going to keep you from recovering in life and if you know more about this than I do, please, write more on the subject, but this is all I have for you today.  

These are my examples of time disasters: Getting Stuck and Distractions. 

Energy disasters.

You remember those 15 hours of borderline stuff that you have to do to stay normal?  Serious problems come out when you don't do that stuff.  You don't get enough sleep?  Stress.  You don't shower?  Stress.  You don't exercise?  Stress.  You end up being late to morning stuff, accidentally late for sleep, you don't get enough sleep?  Stress.  You could end up chronically late for everything in your life.   Also, did I mention sleep deprived?   Or stress?  Now, it's ok.  Stress is normal.  However.  A lot of stress, and you could crack.  I know.  I'm one of the crackers.  I'm not talking about how white I am.  I cracked under stress.  More about that later. 

Unhappy breaks to your routine is another energy disaster.  I have a pretty good routine mapped out at least for the mornings and the evenings.  I like to have some time with God, and breakfast and I'm trying to start exercising.  I take a shower in the evenings and read, journal and knit.  It's pretty sweet.  My brother's dog came to visit us for a weekend, and that was a happy break to my routine, because, of course, I was showering her with attention and affection and catering to her every whim.  But a brittle routine paired up with an unhappy break can be the worst.  We can't let the terrorists win.  Routines are there to make you feel happy and secure, and if there is dramatic change in your life, or a schedule you  despise with your eyes that doesn't fit you and draw you to your needs, you will have an unhappy break, that will set you back for years.  It's another cracker situation. 

People disasters.  I don’t even know where to start with this one, actually I should have started with this one, because there is no time/energy management, only people management.  Am I right… people?  You would know.  I like to think of individuals as little business organizations who are all managing people under and above them.  In my experience, I have avoided people and tend to be an introvert, for many and varied reasons, and I know that it is me.  But I do love people and want to be there for my friends and family.  I like to keep my options open when it comes to people and the mistakes you make are varied and impossible to describe.  I don't even know what I could say about people that could make sense of anything that might start to describe mistakes we make with people that can keep us from reaching our dreams.  A couple good rules of thumb.  Keep your word.  Be as honest as much as possible, lie when you need a breath of fresh air, take care of the little ones, respect the older ones, and don’t lose faith with your peers.  That doesn't even begin to touch the volumes of work which could be written about people disasters, but it's a start.  Don't ever stop learning. 

So achieve your dreams.  Don't be thrown off by time, energy, or people disasters.  I hope this helps in someway, forgive me where I fall short.