If you had asked me a few years ago what I thought about the idea of renting out my house and traveling full-time, I would have scoffed and told you, “there is NO way I could do that! I have… (insert excuse here- a job, kids in school, a mortgage, family nearby).”
There are a million reasons NOT to do something. It is much easier, after all, to talk ourselves out of doing something scary, or difficult, or against the norm. Society has ingrained upon us that from an early age we must follow the “correct” path in order to lead a life of fullfillment, which usually involves a college education, a dependable job, a house in the right neighborhood, a perfect marriage, and then raising children that follow this same path. Why do we so simply accept this thinking? How many people are truly happy and fulfilled on this path? What if things could be different?
But, the years pass quickly, and for us the conversations about breaking away from the conventional life were mere ideas that flittered away with the busy-ness of life, and we let 7 years consume us. Seven years before beginning a conversation again. And the realization that time waits for no one, and certainly not us, hit hard. And we said, “Oh yeah, remember that? We were going to move, travel, live by the ocean, do something different.”
We began talking about it casually, and gradually we kept coming back to the conversation more and more seriously each time, until we could not wait any longer. We were often paralyzed by fear and uncertainty until it became IMPERATIVE that we set the wheels in motion. But, when? Certainly not at that point.
It never seems to be the “right” time. The time in our life where all the stars align, and we have the perfect opportunity to break away from our current situation.
But, if not now, when?
I found myself repeating this phrase, for as much as we have good intentions, there is always one more reason why it’s not a good time to do something bold. Not enough money and not enough time. Do those phrases sound familiar? Sure, we have all uttered those phrases.
If not now, when?
In a few years, when we save more money. When the kids are older. When the kids are done with school. When we are at a crossroads in our career. And we brush aside our dreams, and suddenly the bank account is decent, the job is stale, and we still convince ourselves that a better time is off somewhere in the distance. So many excuses and fears get in our way.
But, if not now, when?
We never know what tomorrow will bring that can spin our life into a different direction entirely, by no choice of our own. We cannot keep putting off our dreams, waiting for the perfect time. We have to create the life we want to live. It will never just fall upon us, and it has nothing to do with luck. We have to set the wheels in motion.
So what do you envision for your own life? Have you begun setting the wheels in motion for your own dream? And if not now, when?
