womanteal2

I have a dream!

Those are the words of one of my greatest heroes, but unfortunately I’ve let a dream sit on the shelf for 15 years.

I keep saying, “one day” but doing nothing about it.

There is a long list of reasons that this dream doesn’t seem feasible, but it hasn’t gone away. It’s always there, right at the edge and I just push it away.

Celebrating 25 years as a cancer survivor has reminded me that we don’t always get “one day.”

So I’m going to do something about it.

The greatest restrictions on our dreams are often self-inflicted.

My first step is to stop making excuses. My second to stop blaming others.

Then it’s time to take the restrictions off.

 

Restriction #1: It doesn’t make sense

It’s never going to make sense. In fact, the longer I’ve put it off the less sense it makes.

It’s a dream.

Dreams don’t take shape in concrete form. They unfold. They have a beginning. They start somewhere and it’s usually small.

Today I will break down the dream into doable parts and put one brushstroke on the canvas. I’m not putting a time line on it. I’m not trying to do it all this week.

What’s your dream?

Is it something that God has burned on your heart and, as much as you run from it, is it still there?

That dream might not make sense until you arrive. Even then you might look back and see that the trust journey was the best part of going after your dream.

 

Restriction #2: It’s not going to work

So what? Your dream isn’t about receiving awards or affirmation. It’s the beauty of living out that dream.

I have no idea how people will respond to this particular dream, but I know how I feel about it.

That’s what matters — me, God, my family.

If it’s a huge success, awesome. If it’s not, awesome. I pursued my dream!

 

Restriction #3: It takes time that I don’t have

One of the saddest things I’ve read in a long time is a list of regrets from people facing the end of their lives. One of the biggest regrets is how they spent their time.

[ctt template=”4″ link=”vP06o” via=”yes” ]One of the biggest end-of-life regrets is how we spent our time. We can change that while we still have time. #livefreeThursday @suzanneeller[/ctt]

I have time for my faith.

I have time for Facebook.

I have time for writing deadlines.

I have time for family.

I have time for ministry.

These aren’t in any particular order, but they are what consumes my time. There’s more, but these are the biggies.

I’m crushed with things that take my time, just like most women. So, in order to remove this restriction I have to be honest about what takes my time.

I don’t have to do all of the things that I do. Some are nonnegotiable, like family (I like them a lot). Yet even in these really important parts of your life, there’s room for compromise.

I didn’t like putting Facebook on the list for you to see, but I have to be honest with myself. I love using it for ministry. I love keeping in touch with friends, but if I’m honest about how much time it consumes I see a self-inflicted dream killer.

Facebook needs a lot less of Suzie and I need a lot less of it.

I can sit down and examine everything I do and either reassign, remove, or replace it. This is going to be my biggest challenge, but I believe it will offer my best return.

What about you?

What are your time stealers?

 

Are you ready to take the restrictions off your dreams?

Who put them there?

What will you do about it?

Suzie

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