An acquaintance of mine once lamented that she was utterly frustrated with her lack of progress toward her dreams, given her age. According to her outlook, if you hadn't made it by then, you weren't anywhere near as likely to do so afterwards. A very late bloomer indeed, she ranted, and going to seed before the blush was off the rose, to boot. Ouch. Fortunately, I didn't believe a word of it and now she is happily off proving herself wrong in many ways - but I digress.
Far too many of us try too hard to jump right out of childhood and into long-term success before we've even figured out what we want. Sure, there are plenty of people doing it all around us - 20-something MBAs, 30-something CEOs and 40-something retirees. But what we fail to realize is that all the stuff we do until we move onto our dreams is hardly wasted effort, and all the stuff that these preternaturally speedy "reference points" skip over may well hurt them in the end.
Perhaps a little exercise in imagination will make clearer what I'm saying. If you had a child in college who was no less brilliant, no less studious and no less wise than any other, would you - in their first year at university - encourage them to take the advanced classes immediately, wringing your hands and bemoaning the fact that even though they've been attending a top-flight engineering school for 6 months already, they aren't anywhere near being a top-flight engineer?
Of course not! It would be ridiculous. A sound course of study is to spend the first few years taking basic, core curriculum classes that provide the foundation for the advance studies yet to come, and to use that basic-ed time to ensure that they are on the right major track while they still have time to switch - because, after all, the core curriculum is a required part of all degrees and nearly all such classes are entirely transferable to any major course of study.
Well, the same thing is true in life, but too few of us see that clearly or well. Just as too many students trip and stumble through expensive and exhausting majors as if the wolves of hell were nipping at their heels, only to find themselves suddenly shaking hands with the Dean and holding a degree that they can't even bring themselves to look at (not to mention the student loan bills that hit the mailbox the month after), lots of folks jump right into to what they've "always wanted to do" in life without even pausing to learn the basics skills necessary to live, love, survive and (most important) figure out for sure what they want to do in life. If you watch carefully, you'll see many of those eager-beaver corporate prodigies, early adopters and always-on-the-ball whiz kids sporting increasingly haunting shadows in the backs of their eyes as they begin to realize that maybe they jumped into things a little too hastily, that "on the ball" isn't exactly a stable place to be and that now they're stuck with responsibilities, expectations and "sunk costs" that are just too weighty to get out from under with any grace or dignity.
Sometimes it's good to be a late bloomer, seeds and all. After all, whatever we learn in the core curriculum of life will apply to nearly anything we choose to do with it later. Saving the advanced courses in life - the following of dreams, the searching for inner peace, the quest for the perfect mate - until after we learn how to balance our checkbook, love ourselves, think and act with honesty and integrity, and cook a decent meal - is not just a wise decision. It is absolutely, fundamentally the only way we stand a chance of getting it right when it counts.
(c) Soni Pitts
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Soni Pitts is the Chief Visionary Butt-Kicker of sonipitts.com. She specializes in helping others reclaim "soul proprietorship" in their lives and to begin living the life their Creator always intended for them.
She is the author of the free e-book "50 Ways To Reach Your Goals" and over 100 self-help and inspirational articles, as well as other products and resources designed to facilitate this process of personal growth and spiritual development.
Ancona limousine airport .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareAn effective self- concept generates the desire to strive for... Read More
I'm going to begin this article by sharing a little... Read More
If you'd like to fulfill your long-held dreams, try a... Read More
One of the inevitabilities of University life is the examination.... Read More
One of the first things most of us remember hearing... Read More
Do you sometimes feel that you're living a boring life?... Read More
This is a little primer on how to start, survive... Read More
The best way to predict your future is to create... Read More
Imagine you are a fire. Fires burn at different levels... Read More
Persistence is the foundation of success. Although there are many... Read More
Our brain is a marvelous creation. It receive and transmit... Read More
Driven by cultural imperatives and inner promptings, we drive ourselves... Read More
Cost is sometimes a difficult term to define. Here, we... Read More
Frederick W. Smith attended Yale University and wrote a paper... Read More
The ten-year period which followed the stock market crash of... Read More
Nobody becomes a success alone, period. There is no such... Read More
Why do diets end up in gained weight? Why do... Read More
(Excerpted From the 2001 Jim Rohn Millennium Weekend Event -... Read More
A Lifelong Learning Plan is a conscious, continuous engagement in... Read More
Many of us have lost sight of what we really... Read More
Reading is an integral part of our daily work lives.... Read More
The title of this article also happens to be the... Read More
Here are 3 powerful steps you can take to free... Read More
Most of your behavior is determined by your habits. Everything... Read More
Success is something that happens all by itself once you've... Read More
Buffalo Grove cheapest limo ..Each human being, who exists above the level of simple... Read More
Visualize success, and what you'll do to reward yourself A... Read More
After all the things I have shared with you this... Read More
"When I think back on all the crap I learned... Read More
In so many areas of life we must always be... Read More
If you have a choice each day in the tasks... Read More
Too often we wait for the 'right time' or 'the... Read More
One of the most overlooked opportunities for learning and personal... Read More
"One important key to success is self-confidence. An important key... Read More
Jim Rohn, noted leader and speaker in the personal development... Read More
The simple action of writing the every day grocery demonstrates... Read More
Plants of all kinds (including trees), herbs and roots have... Read More
There are those out there who would lead us to... Read More
Self-esteem is very important. It is the way we view... Read More
Critics can destroy or inspire you. Your own self critic... Read More
There are twelve necessary elements involved in achieving success:1. Spend... Read More
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in... Read More
An acquaintance of mine once lamented that she was utterly... Read More
Before we can unlock human potential, we need to know... Read More
Everything we have in life is because of the help... Read More
Many of the problems we have with discipline are caused... Read More
Of course by now we are all becoming aware of... Read More
Are you consistently chasing success? Once you achieve it, do... Read More
When entering second adulthood, many women will begin a journey... Read More
I've been thinking a lot about what I believe to... Read More
Success |