Have you ever heard something you strongly believe stated so well it takes your breath away? I was over at Do Something Cool when I discovered Steve’s list of motivational quotations. Normally I stay away from these, but the first one on the list grabbed me so I kept reading. I’m so glad I did. I discovered the mindset I’ve been living for the last 15 years, all boiled down to a neat package.
When I moved to England, I made a leap of faith towards the me I wanted to be. That decision was based on a realization made in a single moment. It is still my all time best decision. I need to believe that I am still a person willing to jump at becoming the person I want to be. The surface big changes are easy for me – I’d move pretty much anywhere in the world in a heartbeat. Noticing the subtler items of what I might become are harder for me to detect … and to adopt.
I have been rethinking my idea of making choices based on what will make the best story at the senior center. When I used to think about travel, I was looking for unusual, but still heard of locations. I still fully believe that international travel is vital for broadening a person’s world view. My thoughts on destinations are more self-focused now: Where would I like to go that is meaningful to me?
I spent my first 30 years focusing all my efforts on pleasing others so I could find worth in myself. I don’t wish that experience away since it brought me to where I am. Having lived that way for so long allows me to fully grasp the significance of a wonderful Steve Job’s quotation: Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.
That is exactly why each decade has gotten better for me: I have been gradually letting go of what others think. My opinion matters, which is what makes the WEB DuBois quotation strike me so much now. Any leap I would take today to see what I might become would be sacrificing a version of me that I respect. It doesn’t mean I wouldn’t give up what I am. I would simply have to be more dedicated to the potential of what I might become than what I am in the moment.
Would you give up what you are for what you might become? Or Am I the only one who is liking his/herself more with each decade that passes?
Grown Up, Now What? 