Are Dreams Important?

Lesson 2 caused me to think deeper than I have in a long time about myself, my life, and my goals.  Putting together my bucket list was extremely rewarding.   I surprised myself with things that I came up with.  One thing that stood out to me as I sat back and looked at my list was the reliance that I had to place in other people in order for me to accomplish some of these things on my list, including the ones that seemed very singular or personal.  It caused me to reflect a lot on my current path and how that path aids or dentures my ability to make these things happen.  It also caused me to think a lot about my current employment and whether or not that will help me to accomplish my goals. This is something that I have struggled with for a long time. I like my job and it provides for my family very well, I just simply ask myself if I could I do better. 

The lecture by Randy Pausch was incredibly inspiring. Although I have seen parts of it before, putting it together with this week’s lesson was very powerful.  There are probably many reasons why Randy was able to accomplish a lot of his childhood goals. I think the main reason was probably simply because he thought he could. I think many people have goals and dreams but never actually think they can accomplish them.  Having the confidence that you can actually accomplish the goal allows you to put that first foot forward and move towards it.

I actually have mixed feelings about dreams. I have known many people in my life who dream big, and to be honest, it is rather annoying. I don't think that the dreams themselves are annoying, it is the fact that these people never take any steps towards making them happen.  They just seem to move from dream to dream telling people about all of the cool stuff they want to do, but they never accomplish anything.  Do I think dreams are important?  Yes, but I think that confidence and the ability to work hard are more important.  Without these things, dreams are simply things that other people do.  

I had a dream as a kid to play professional baseball. I loved the game and spent many hours a day each summer playing it.  I was always one of the best on the field, but I lacked one very important aspect and that was that I did not understand the requirements or what it would take to actually achieve that goal. I simply thought that if I kept playing I would be good enough to make it there.  Looking back, I feel that had I expressed my dreams to other people, there may have been others that would have helped me realize the work that it would have taken to get me where I wanted to be.