Lifelong Dreams: Do they have to wait that long? 

I am a firm believer in making dreams come true, AND as soon as possible. When we were planning this move to Spain last year and the one to Italy 20 years ago, people often lamented they’d like to do something similar but they couldn’t, “… at least not now.” They had lots of reasons. I listened and bit my tongue. Now, whether they really wanted to, or were just being nice and not calling me a nut job to my face, I’ll never know. Here’s the thing I wanted to say, but didn’t because I didn’t know them well enough or didn’t want to offend them or both. I don’t want to offend you either, but maybe what I wanted to say is something you could use to help you get past whatever is stopping you from making your dream a reality. 

If we wait for kids to grow up, the house to be paid off, the job promotion that will make us feel enough…well, you know where I’m going with this. The reality could be, the kids grow up and move away or (shudder) don’t. The house is paid off but you may not want to live in it anymore. The job promotion you’ve worked so hard for may not come through, and if it does, it may not end up being the job you wanted after all. We may assume we’ll have enough years, good health, strong legs, upper body strength, mental capacity, and a whole host of things we might take for granted, but the fact is there are no guarantees. 

“Whatever you want to do, do it now. There are only so many tomorrows.” 

Michael Landon

Saying we’ll take action after such and such happens might be a convenient excuse, because taking action takes real effort, and it can be scary. My husband and I have quit jobs twice to move abroad. I turned down jobs I didn’t want even when I needed them (sometimes my intuition is spot on), and did things friends say they were impressed that I had the guts to do, but probably meant horrified. How did I get the nerve? 

In retrospect, I see a pattern, and I have pictures to illustrate! Whenever I have big goals, I use visuals to keep me motivated. They are now called vision boards, but most of mine have been small so I can keep them front and center. Literally, in my line of sight at all times. 

What I am advocating is laser-focused attention to your goals. If your goal is to backpack around the world, finish your education, pay off debt, or buy and renovate houses, then weekly trips to Target or the dollar store where you get distracted and spend money you didn’t intend will not get you there faster. This might. Here are two of my real-life examples: 

Moving to Italy

I crafted this image of my husband set to ride his bike in the Tuscan hills when we were planning and saving to move to Italy. Seeing this on my fridge every day, several times a day, reminded me why I was bringing my lunch, not stopping for coffee on the way to work, and eating homemade meals pretty much all the time. Saving for something specific like living abroad made it a whole lot easier to make sacrifices, large and small.  

Finishing My Book

When struggling to finish my book, Times New Roman: How We Quit Our Jobs, Gave Away Our Stuff & Moved to Italy, I needed help focusing. I adapted this whimsical Kate Spade graphic to include an imagined book spine of my own. The actual book looks nothing like this, but it helped me “see” myself with a published manuscript. Putting this on the cork board over my desk, gave me the gentle reminder I needed to keep writing.  

These two small visuals cost nothing to make as I used materials I already had. You can keep them small or go poster board size and even share your vision if you want to. If family and friends understand what your goals are, they might be more inclined to support and cheer you on. You also don’t have to show them to anyone if you don’t feel comfortable. This is for YOU!

When my boyfriend, now husband, gave me a bike for Christmas that first year (hey, it was romantic to him), we went riding in areas where I’d get nervous about a pothole or broken glass on the road. As an experienced cyclist, he’d remind me to, “Look where you want to go, not where you don’t want to go.” Sure enough, if I started looking at the pothole, that’s exactly where I’d end up. Looking at the smooth pavement next to it, kept me upright. Your head guides your action. Your vision board will as well.  

I hope this inspires you and would LOVE to see your vision board if you’d like to share.

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Want to know more about our first move abroad? I wrote a book! Times New Roman: How We Quit Our Jobs, Gave Away Our Stuff & Moved to Italy