Living your Dream Limbo? Just Keep Swimming!

By July 31, 2013October 28th, 2015Life changing moments

One of my biggest missions for “6 Months to Live” is to inspire and empower people to create lives they love, so it’s important to me that I am a cheerleader for people and their dreams. I want others to know that dreams do come true, that everything is possible, and that magic and opportunities are everywhere.

As the blog continues to grow exponentially and in my effort to encourage people, I have to admit there’s a part of me that’s felt an internal pressure to be all smiles, positivity, and full of life when it comes to blog posts. But this blog started and continues to be an experiment in living. I began by chronicling my personal journey and discoveries along the way and thankfully, you joined in and continue to share your experiences! 

Wall of China
Keep an eye on your goal! Wall of China 2008

After a few conversations with friends and clients this week, I realized that it’s important to talk about all aspects of life, not just the rosy parts. If you’re hitting some rough patches on the road to your dreams, that’s 100% normal. I’m creating HUGE dreams right now–they’re bigger than I could have ever imagined even a year ago. I’ll be honest–not every day is unicorns and rainbows. Choosing to live your dreams is not for the faint of heart. Your desire for your dream has to outweigh your fear or the tough spots. Which will you regret more: not doing everything in your power to create what you really want or not taking the chance(s)?

  • January 2009: I moved to San Francisco on New Year’s Eve with a little over $1,000 and a place to live for a month during the recession. When I wrote this post, I had not found a job yet. Many twists and turns to that story but 5 weeks later, I had landed my dream job. 

  • October 2012: On my path to sailing in Mexico, there were multiple times it looked like it wasn’t going to happen. My original plan was to stay in San Francisco and crew for a skipper heading to San Diego and then onto Mexico in a well known annual race called the Baja Ha-Ha but that wasn’t materializing. After waiting in San Francisco a month, I left and went back to stay with my family in Atlanta. I felt defeated, but I didn’t give up. There are more twists and turns to that story, but it all worked out. It would have been easy on the days were it didn’t seem possible to give up and say, “That was a nice dream, but oh well.” If I had, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to have one of the best experiences of my life or swim with wild sea lions for that matter. 
  • Present Day: BIG DREAMS! Again, not everyday is rainbows and unicorns. There are some incredibly high highs and some low lows. This week has been fantastic but Sunday I was definitely walking the overcast beach in sunglasses listening to one of my favorite songs while crying. By the time I got to the end of the beach, I felt better. As Scarlett O’Hara said, “After all, tomorrow is another day” and it was.

If I had given up, I would never have swam with wild sea lions in Mexico

The blog continues to be an exploration of life for all of us. Whether you’re reading, writing a guest post, interacting on Twitter/Facebook, leaving comments, you’re part of this exploration of what life can be when we choose our own paths together. It’s like Dory says in Finding Nemo: “Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming!” 

The best part of life is the people that enter our world. If you’re creating a dream and there are some rough patches, you’re not alone. There is help. There are classes. There are communities. There’s this community. I can pretty much guarantee that most people reading this are awesome, so reach out–to me, to other people who comment, to those interacting on Facebook or Twitter. We are not alone, and together we can create amazing dreams. It may not all be unicorns and rainbows, but there are definitely some parts that are, so keep going!

 

 

Join the discussion 8 Comments

  • Arianna says:

    Such an important post! LOVE LOVE LOVE this! Couldn’t agree more – in life many have an image to protect so they present themselves in a certain light and only share the highs of their journeys. To relate to others and build communities, it is essential to show all aspects of our lives and say my life isn’t all unicorns and rainbow. You are showing two important lessons here 1) to be open about the process and 2) not only have the thoughts but to act on them. I remember talking to you about this – so glad you decided to write about it. Thank you for this beautiful post! You rock Jackie! Keep standing tall and speaking from your heart 🙂

    • Jacqueline says:

      Thanks so much, Arianna! What a wonderful comment! I know we’ve been huge cheerleaders for each other and our communities as we continue to pursue our dreams! Very grateful for our friendship! 🙂

  • Audrey Chin says:

    Yes! It’s good to keep swimming Jacqueline. It’s good to be in the in-between moments too. Jeff Goins of Tribewriters just wrote an amazing book about that. If you ever feel you need downtime and wonder why, go read it. Now… why I’m telling you this I don’t know. An intutition? Have a great day.

    • Jacqueline says:

      Great point, Audrey! Thanks for the book recommendation–I’ll definitely look into it! The “keep swimming” part refers to continuing with one’s dreams. I’ve seen far too many people bail on what they really wanted because things were taking longer than they hoped or because they weren’t showing up exactly how they thought it would be. You’re absolutely right though–it’s important to enjoy the process and the steps along the way! Look forward to checking out the book! 😉

  • Oly Trinity says:

    hi jacqueline, you are right again, in that life with big dreams is not ‘unicorns and rainbows’ but there are definitely some great paths that you tread while reaching for that biggest dream and in the end, there you will find the ‘rainbow’ and not a pot of gold but a community of honest, sincere, and happy friends that can last forever.
    ‘friendship’ is something that we should value, without it the world would be an empty place to live in. all friends, best friends forever, close friends even just friends, if you find them treasure them like jewels in your heart. They can make you laugh, dance and sing but sometimes they can make you cry, too especially if you lose a dear friend to vicious cancer or an unfortunate accident.
    Enjoy their company while they are there with you for nothing in this planet lasts forever. We can laugh and we can cry but if you find good friends mostly they will make you laugh, live and love with all your heart. friends forever are the ‘unicorns’, rare and precious! luv ur post!!!

    • Jacqueline says:

      That’s a great point, Oly! Glad that you enjoyed the post so much, and I appreciate you calling out the importance of friendships and people along the way in making a dream a reality. Everything becomes possible because of people and the more passionate, excited, and happy people you have around you, encouraging you towards the finish line, the faster the dream will become a reality! 🙂

  • Barbara says:

    Hey, Jacqueline! I’m very excited about your whole “6 Months To Live” thing! I think you may remember how exhausting summers can be at the ranch so I know you’ll understand when I tell you that as soon as I’m done (4th of Oct.) and as soon as I return from a trip to Boise to see my granddaughter, I’m going to be more in contact with you! Everything I’ve seen so far (and admittedly it’s not much) has been right up my alley. I’m looking forward to sharing experiences and dreams with you!

    • Jacqueline says:

      Great to hear from you, Barb, and thanks so much for reaching out! I appreciate all your support and look forward to sharing experiences and dreams as well! 🙂

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