Live the Dream

Posted by Fiona Harrold | No Comment

Last week I did a phone-in for Radio 2, on the Jeremy Vine show, on the theme of loving your job.

Many of the callers were remarkably positive, some downright enlightened! The one thing the happy callers all had in common was a genuine gratitude for their particular situation.

Alan, a roofer, called in to say he grasped how lucky he was after spending a year in Swaziland teaching the locals roofing skills. Seeing the attitude of people who had precious little helped him appreciate all that he has. And he was calling from the roof of a house damaged in one of last week’s gales!

Sean, a long distance trucker saw himself as a “knight of the road,” driving well and helping others along the way. All the happy callers felt there was nothing really important missing from their lives.

The unhappy ones had generally given up on something, something that really was important. John had been unsuccessful in getting into an elite regiment of the Army. At 28 he was making plenty of money in his sales job, with a recent promotion, and happily married with a young child.

All good – except for that itch: that feeling that he had once wanted to do something “important,” help others in distress, use his physical fitness, do something out of the ordinary.

What a young age to give up on the dream!

I encouraged John to see that there was another way to fulfil his heroic ambitions. Joining the SAS isn’t the only way to stretch oneself and make a contribution! He demonstrates to all of us, the importance of finding a way to keep the dream alive. Personally, I’d rather live with the hope of fulfilling my dreams than give up and live with the inevitable “what-if’s.”

The truth is – there’s always a way.

The end result not be exactly the original picture, but the vital trick is to honour the dream and the essence of our early impulses, however the practical expression of it may unfold.

Nor does the dream have to become a full-time job, take over our lives, or exclude anything else. And, we’ll know if it’s working, when the itch goes away!

So, I urge you – don’t settle for the “what-if’s.” Do something about it.