Chasing Possible

Remember when you were five years old and adults would ask you the question, “So, what do you want to be when you grow up?”  Do you remember your answer?

Generally, five year olds have no problem answering this question.  They answer with genuine enthusiasm and the answer is always different.  The first time someone asks, they want to be a doctor and the very next day, a firefighter.

Five-year-olds don’t sit around and think about what might be the most logical choice.  They don’t stew over how much money they’ll need to pay their mortgage and their car payment and they certainly don’t overanalyze which careers seem to make the most sense based on their current lot in life.  After all, they’re five… if they dreamt of only being able to accomplish what one is capable of at age five; they certainly wouldn’t get very far.

Ironically, when you’re young, grown-ups think it’s cute if you’re a dreamer, but when you’re in your thirties or even older, people tend to say things like, “Oh, she must be having a mid-life crisis”.  The truth is, we should all be more like the five-year-olds we were and less like the adults we’ve become.  We might actually start making progress in the right direction.

Being five is the perfect age in my opinion.  You’re old enough to use your imagination with an incredible amount of detail, but still young enough to believe that being Superman or Wonder Woman is not entirely out of the question as a future profession.

Somewhere along the line though, most of us have taken off our capes and tucked them away in a drawer somewhere.  We grow up and we get “realistic” about our goals and most of the time, we forget all about those ingenious ideas we had way back then.

Every single person on this planet is born with the infinite ability to make their dreams come true, but life is challenging and most of us end up deterred and cynical.  We may even have good reason to be deterred and cynical, but what would happen if we took the focus off what hasn’t happened and instead focused solely on what could happen?

What if you stopped for one split second and asked yourself, “What do I want to be?”

I’ll warn you; this is a dangerous question.  My career is in complete upheaval because of this very question.

About a year ago, I was working as a self-employed small business consultant.  I was helping my client build an entirely new business from scratch.  He was making a change from being the owner of a successful recruiting firm to starting a seminar and coaching company called DigYourWork.  Through the workshops we created, I dared to take a look at my own career as it related to my overall happiness. 

Using one of the exercises we had developed, I sat down and got honest.  I definitely had more autonomy and more satisfaction being self-employed than I ever had as an employee, but something was still missing.  I enjoyed my work to a certain extent, but wasn’t excited about it.  I was good at it, but didn’t think there was any way to make it better.

I thought back to my own childhood and asked myself the question, “What have I always loved to do?”  Swing on monkey bars?  Eat ice cream?  What did I believe that I could do then, that now seemed implausible?  What’s the missing piece from my current career?

And you know what the answer was?  I want, in some capacity, to be a performer (television star, public speaker, you name it)… AND… I want to be rich and famous as a result of my performance… and hey, why stop there?  I want to be the next OPRAH!! 

Upon reviewing my answers, my logical self took over.  What on earth was I supposed to do with that information?  So, I did what I always did in these types of situations.  I picked up the phone and called for an emergency session with my life coach.

I knew there was nothing but truth that came out of that exercise.  I’ve always loved being the center of attention - starring in plays, performing in the family dining room after dinner, cheerleading in high school.  It wasn’t until I turned 18 that I decided I could no longer pursue something fun - I had to be responsible.

But therein lies the key… being responsible.  There is a responsibility that comes with making discoveries like this.  You get honest and uncover something that you may have always known was there, but you stuffed it down for this very reason; because now you have to do something about it.

My immediate thought was that I could not, under any circumstances, tell my soon-to-be-husband about this discovery.  He’d think I’m nuts.  I talked to my life coach; who told me I absolutely had to share my discovery… not only with my soon-to-be-husband, but with everyone I know.

I had no idea how to even broach the subject, so finally one night over dinner I just blurted out, “I talked to Glenn the other day and I want to be rich and famous.”

SILENCE

Him:  Okaaaaay.

Me:  And Glenn said that I should tell you about it and then write it down on a piece of paper and hang it on the refrigerator so you and I will see it as a reminder that, that’s what I want.  He also said that I should start telling everyone I know.

Him:  Okaaaaay.

Me:  I don’t know how I’m going to be rich OR famous at this point, but it’s something that I really want and I think telling people about it and saying it out loud will help me figure it out.

Him:  Okay.

Talk about feeling five.

I realize that discoveries like these don’t happen every day.  And when they do happen, they feel heavy - because they are.  Especially when you realize it’s something that you want and you don’t want anyone else to know about it.  Maybe they’ll think you’re stupid.  Maybe they’ll make fun of your choice.  Or maybe, just maybe it’s the one thing you’ve always wanted most and you don’t want to consider the idea that you could try and then fail.

I was terrified to tell anyone about my dream for all of the reasons I’ve listed and then some.  But I can say with confidence that every time I say the words out loud, it gets a little easier and I believe that my BEST moments happen when I’m thinking like my inner five-year-old would and I challenge you to try it for yourself.  I’m telling you, there is nothing more freeing than dusting off your cape and pretending you can fly…

When was the last time you asked yourself what you really want to be when you grow up?  Odds are, the answer today is not far from the answer you gave way back when.

So, what are you waiting for?  Go ahead; I double-dare you.