I believe that there are many ways to make a dream come true. However, there is only one to fail, i.e. waiting and doing nothing. In fact, what differentiates a life-long dream from a dream come true is the action itself. In today’s post, we are going to find out why taking action is important to create the life you want and I don’t know a better way to do it than by telling you an enlightening story.
THE FARMER AND THE CLOUD
There is an age-old Chinese parable about a farmer and his naivety.
It goes something like this:
On a really hot summer morning, a farmer was working in his fields.
The sun was beating down hard when the farmer, looking at the sky, noticed a large cloud not far away.
He thought to himself, “I will stop working, and wait for the cloud to move and cover the sun so that I will then be able to work in the shade. As a result, I will sweat less and finish earlier, what a great idea”!
So, he sat in the shade of a tree and waited.
The farmer waited all day for the cloud to cover the sun.
But, at the end of the day, he had done nothing.
He did not work, he did not pick any crops. He wasted all his day waiting in vain for the cloud to move, yet, the sun was high in the sky the whole time.
Limiting ourselves to dreaming is pretty much behaving like the farmer.
He sat at the foot of a tree, looking at the sky, and waiting for the cloud to move and cover the sun to grant him some shade.
Meanwhile, time went by and the farmer not only did not finish his work, but he also gave up his free time.
If he had worked instead of waiting, he would have finished by lunchtime.
He would then have had some free time to do what he loved, such as spending quality time with his family.
The same goes for us when we wait without ever taking action!
We spend days, weeks, and months, which then turn into years without doing anything concrete to turn our dreams into reality.
We tend to wait, like the farmer for something favorable to happen - a miracle or a stroke of luck that can change our lives for the better.
Meanwhile, time goes by and we end up feeling unhappy, being older, and less inclined to take action to make the change.
“A dream becomes a goal when action is taken toward its achievement”. - Robert Foster Bennett
IF YOU WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT REGRETS, STOP WAITING…
The Chinese parable teaches us not to wait for favorable conditions, otherwise, we end up being left empty-handed.
Saying to oneself - "I will learn every day new skills to become more and more valuable and attractive to the marketplace so that I will no longer have to worry about financial problems” - and implementing it is completely different from saying:
"My life is a disaster, I am broke, all I can do is wait for something to happen - inheritance, Government benefits - to change my life".
In the former scenario, you are building favorable conditions yourself.
In the latter, everything is in the hands of chance, you simply go through life with your fingers crossed.
The society we live in encourages us to play safe, stop dreaming, to accept life as it is.
Yet, without dreamers, we would not have many inventions.
All the best ideas were born thanks to the dreams of people, who were brave enough to chase them.
Without dreamers, we would not have been able to move forward in science, the arts, human relationships, and much more.
So, being a dreamer is essential nowadays.
It is a gesture of rebellion against the pessimism and resignation of our times.
However, that's not enough!
To achieve our goals and make our dreams come true, we need to take action.
Don't be like the farmer waiting for the cloud to move; don’t waste your precious time, which is limited.
Work hard on yourself and your goals; take full responsibility for the life you create.
The life you are living now is the result of the action you have or haven’t taken so far.
So, if you are not satisfied with where you are, you had better start doing something different.
Commit 100% to doing whatever it takes to go the distance; burn the ships!
I guarantee that if you stop waiting and you start taking consistent action instead, eventually, you’ll be rewarded.
Not by a Miracle or a Stroke of luck, but thanks to your commitment and perseverance.
This, dear reader, is one of the greatest satisfactions you can ever experience in a lifetime.
So, what are you waiting for?
Don’t be afraid of making mistakes because:
“Imperfect action beats perfect inaction every time”. - Harry S. Truman
Remember that YOU are responsible for the life you create; nobody or nothing else is!
More resources for YOU:
I agree 100%! By constantly taking action you can go wrong, realise it, go back, correct and move ahead before another person even does the first move.