Life Plans

Photo Courtsey of wellinla.com

We must let go of the life we have planned …. To accept the one that is waiting for us.
– Joseph Campbell

When I was a child, I dreamed of the day that I would become a truck driver.  As I got older and found that I was really good at physics, I dreamed of the day that I would become an engineer.  Then after sitting in the hospital as a teen by myself for hours while my mom’s life hung in the balance, I vowed that I would become a doctor.  I kept up with the Doctor dream well into college, and if you were to talk to a few of my doctor friends they will remind you that I have a great medical mind and it’s not too late for me.  In the background of all of these “dreams,” unbeknownst to even me, there was one that was brewing and had a fiery passion behind it fueling the flames.   It was my love and passion for creating, writing, and telling real good stories.

When I finally discovered this love and passion for myself, I dreamed of becoming a screen and television writer.  For a while, my life was right on track to bring this dream to past. I had my screenplay and tv specs ready, my contacts in place, temporary housing secured, and I was on my way.  Then unexpectedly life happened.  Rather than sticking to my plan, I chose to stay and deal with life at least for that moment.  The opportunity came again.  This time I cashed in my 401k for some added security, and I was on my way yet again, or so I thought.  Unfortunately my plan was deferred once again.  Was this a sign that I should let this dream go?

Over the past couple of years I found myself becoming very angry and unhappy.  I was angry, because to look at where I was in life and where I thought I should have been were two very different places.  I felt trapped, unproductive, and most importantly like a failure.  Marriage yes, kids yes, but working a straight 9-5 with very limited upward mobility in a field that stifled my creative growth, absolutely not.  At times, I felt so trapped that I temporarily convinced myself that maybe I should just settle for the way my life was. Now don’t get me wrong it’s nothing wrong with living a “normal” life. The life where you go to a job for  8 hours (or more) that you don’t like but it pays the bills, you come home  get in what little family and tv time you can, go to bed, rinse and repeat.  It’s just that at the heart of my core I was not designed for that.   I am creative and designed to live outside of the box.  For a person like me it is not only important that I love what I am doing, but it has to stimulate my creative passion and yield fruit (evidence that I am making a positive impact).  My Pastor always reminds us that when you die it’s not about the day you were born, or the day you died.  It’s about what you did in the middle during that dash.  Are they going to talk about the problems you caused or the problems you solved?

Nevertheless, my frustrating time came to a point where I had to realize that by solely focusing on what I felt like I hadn’t accomplished by this point in my life, I was missing out on some of the joys and moments of life that were right in front of me.  Missing out on opportunities to be creative and impactful right in front of me.  No, it isn’t the same as working on a movie or TV set, but it still gives me a chance to write, be creative, and make a positive difference in the lives of those that I encounter.  So if life isn’t all that you had planned it to be, take a moment to step back and really assess and embrace where you are.  There may be some unique opportunities right under your nose that can be just as fulfilling and impactful as the life you planned.  Nothing hardly every goes exactly as planned.  At the end of the day it’s not about how you start but how you finish.   Nope not contradicting, because what you do in the middle determines how you finish.

As always, I thank you for stopping by.  Remember today is a great day to make a positive impact in the lives of those around you, and don’t forget to Be Friendly, Show Favor, and Give Love.