My Dream …

Think back to when you were a young child. If an adult asked you what your dream was you would likely rattle off a long list of things.
You didn’t consider how long they may take, how much effort would be involved, how expensive they may be, or whether they were realistic or otherwise. You had a vivid imagination and no nagging negative thoughts suggesting that you were incapable of achieving anything that you put your mind to.

You would travel the world, go to Space, own a sweet shop stocked with everything that you love, watch every Disney movie ever made, have a swimming pool in the back garden and a job that is so much fun that you never get bored of doing it (I remember my son aiming for a job that involved testing water slides when he was younger!). You would marry the love of your life and live happily ever after, have enough money that you didn’t need to work and live, perfectly well and agile, until 100 years of age.
Then you hit your late teen years / early twenties and life becomes a little more realistic and a tad more mundane. Dreams are still there but they start to become a little more organised and you sense check whether you will be capable of achieving them.
Relationships and children (perhaps) arrive and all too quickly, your days are full to the brim. Work takes up many hours of your week and much of the space in your brain.

Paying the mortgage and the inevitable bills associated with that become priority. The ‘brain space’ that is left becomes full of lists of jobs that need doing. Shoes that need re-heeling, birthday presents that need buying, the bathroom that needs cleaning, the washing that needs doing, the dog that needs walking, the children’s homework that needs to be supervised, arranging the social calendar around all other commitments (and being hopeful that you have enough energy left to enjoy it!) and being a good employee, parent, husband or wife, son or daughter.
I have done a small sample test of people in my friendship group. I asked 10 people what they would respond if I asked them if they had a dream. Of the 10 asked, 2 said that they had one and they defined it, 5 asked for more details and 3 said "what now? I haven’t thought about it."
I prove my point.

I attended the Humble Country Fayre on Saturday (worth a visit next year!) and began chatting to a lovely lady who had undertaken chemotherapy recently. She was in her seventies I would suggest and was sitting with her daughter at a bench drinking a cup of tea. She had a sparkle in her eye and was dressed beautifully despite it being an outdoor event. She was wearing some eye make-up and lipstick and had a smile on her face.

My mother-in-law and I shared their bench and as we chatted, we learned that she was working through her bucket list. Not because she had received further sad news, but because she had been very unwell and was now feeling better and on her way to recovery. I’m sure that I’m not speaking out of turn by mentioning that they had visited the Savoy Hotel for afternoon tea the previous weekend and the staff had been good enough to show her around the Royal Suite, that the visit to this Fayre was also on her list and that the following weekend they were going to the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.
Her face lit up as she listed all the great things that she was doing with her family.
We all need some dreams, but also the ability to see our way to achieving them and taking positive steps in the right direction.
Don’t let your dreams slip away. One day it may be too late.

I love working with clients on their fulfilment. It is the best feeling in the world!

Angela