Dreams: The reasons for living!

We all have dreams. Some of us call them goals. They are our heart’s desires. Some of us achieve them; some of us come close to achieving them; some of us never achieve them. Each of us has different dreams, but we all have dreams! They are the stimulus for waking up in the morning and the reasons for working to achieve them.

This morning let’s discuss why some of us will achieve our dreams and the reasons some of us will never achieve them. All good things in life demand a price to pay, but not necessarily money-instead determination, discipline and a strong will to achieve them. It is never too late to start on the journey to fulfilling our dreams!

A few positive reminders about our dreams:

1. By pursuing any one of our dreams, we can find fulfillment. We don’t need to pursue them all.

2. We don’t have to achieve a dream in order to find fulfillment-we need only actively pursue the dream to attain satisfaction.

3. By living our dream, we can contribute not only to ourselves but to everyone and everything around us.

We could discuss many things about fulfilling our dreams or goals, but frankly speaking we already know most of the things that we have to do to achieve them. Why then do we so often fail in fulfilling our goals? The answer is simple. We choose the “comfort zone” instead of the “discomfort zone.”

The “comfort zone” can be defined as our personal area of thoughts and actions within which we feel comfortable; it’s all the things we’ve done or thought often enough to feel comfortable doing (or thinking). When we are in the comfort zone we do not feel stress, worry, or anxiety. We put aside all things that make us feel insecure or uncomfortable.

The “discomfort zone” is the opposite. In the “discomfort zone” we feel a need to fulfill some action but too often refuse to act upon it because it requires effort. When we fail to fulfill those actions or thoughts, we feel tinges of fear, guilt, unworthiness, hurt feelings, and/or anger. However instead of realizing that we need to act on the action or thought, we revert quickly to the comfort zone and promise to do the action at a later time. The end result: faded dreams and unrealized goals. So the answer is that if we wish to achieve our dreams we must tread in the area of the “discomfort zone.” Are we willing to do so?

This started out as a discussion about dreams for the individual, but somewhere along the way the lost dreams of our islands prods me to talk about them. Let’s take a tour around Saipan and see the visible loss of our dreams. Words fail in describing what we will see.

Let’s start in Kagman where hundreds of homestead lots have been distributed to local residents. This area is supposed to have given pride of ownership and security to our citizens lucky to receive a homestead lot free. Some of the homes are well kept, but they are few and far between and show the dream is still real for a few of us.

However as we continue to slowly cruise the village, we notice many houses abandoned and others left unfinished in mid-construction. Quite a few lots are left vacant with weeds growing wild. Many of the yards show an uncared concern with garbage lying all over. Many of the houses show the need for upkeep. So many need painting badly.

Some of the houses have windows boarded up. Some have junk cars dumped on the lawn. The drive is very depressing and visibly asks what has happened to the beauty and pride that once swept this island. What happened to the dreams?

Let’s continue our drive through Dandan and through Koblerville. What we see is very similar to what we just saw in the Kagman area-a blighted area of depression!

What happened to the noble plan that gave our locals a free homestead so that they would feel secure and want to be productive and create a happy society? What has happened to the dreams in which our citizens were to live happily ever after? Where are they now? Why have so many deserted the homesteads and left the island? Why are so many homes in the above areas in such bad condition? People, what has happened to us?

Leaving Koblerville, we enter lower Chalan Kona. As we proceed uptown, we pass many closed shops and restaurants. Few people are seen walking or shopping. I am reminded of the old cowboy movies of the ghost towns in which whole communities moved out and left vacant the entire area. I am also reminded of Third World countries where poverty is prevalent. Have we become a Third World country?

Did this condition happen overnight? I don’t think so. It has been creeping up on us but we have neglected the signs. For example, if we have a slight physical discomfort and ignore it, it can become a serious illness such as diabetes. When we finally decide to treat it, it may be too late or it will take great effort to treat it and at great expense.

Let’s discontinue our drive about town and go home and ponder how we can resolve the years of neglect and consider how we arrived at this low depth in which our dreams have faded. Are there solutions? Yes, but are we ready to enter the “discomfort zone?”

To begin, we must start with ourselves. No excuses allowed. No, don’t blame the elected officials. They are us. We listened to them and believed them. Did we run to them as soon as we saw our dreams fading? If we did, did we shout loud enough?

Let’s begin by cleaning up our yards; let’s start painting our houses; let’s get the junk out of our yards. Let’s spruce up our immediate surrounding and encourage our neighbors to do likewise. In fact, let’s offer to assist them in doing to their property what we are doing to ours.

As we are doing this, let’s go into the tourist areas and clean them up. Let’s insist that the weeds be trimmed and that garbage be taken away. Let’s create cleanliness to show our tourists. As we are doing this, feel the pride that slowly begins to arise in us. We are on the road to awakening our dreams.

As we begin to make the personal changes, which, by the way, do not cost us any money except tolerating the “discomfort zone,” we will be able to reverse the trend and begin to make changes around us on a bigger scale. It must come from one and build to many. Frankly, if we don’t feel the need to improve ourselves, no change will take place.

The next time you put off doing something, think about the “comfort zone” and the “discomfort zone.” Therein lies the fulfillment of our dreams or the failure of our dreams. Which will it be?

Let’s part with some thought provoking phases:

“You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wildness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover will be yourself.”-Alan Alda

“Procrastination is the fear of success. People procrastinate because they are afraid of the success that they know will result if they move ahead now. Because success is heavy, carries a responsibility with it, it is much easier to procrastinate and live on the ‘someday I’ll’ philosophy.”-Dennis Waitley

DO IT! Let’s get off our buts! Keep smiling!