You Have a Dream

Lately I’ve given a lot of thought to dreams. Not the kind you have while asleep, as amusing as those often are. I mean our aspirations for our lives. I suppose dreams seem a little more far-fetched and a little less rational than our goals.

We’re often told that we should pursue our dreams at all costs, for the sake of our happiness. But lately I’ve been thinking that there must be some limit there, or we are more likely to jeopardize our happiness than to find it. If, for example, a man dreamed of being the CEO at his company (don’t worry, I’m not that ambitious), that is a relatively understandable dream, although it’s a bit lofty. But if he works 18-hour days, never sees his family, gets divorced and ruins his relationship with his children in order to achieve that dream, then it’s definitely a Pyrrhic victory.

I’m trying to think about whether or not I have crazy huge aspirations, but all I ever really wanted was a family, a house, and a decent job, all of which I now have. I guess I still dream of running a full marathon, and getting a novel published, but those seem more like things to add to a standard list of goals.

So I guess the question is, at what point do we draw the line and realize that our dreams shouldn’t necessarily be pursued at all costs? What are your dreams, and how far would you go to achieve them?

Comments

Jen said…
I have dreams and some of them are pretty fantastic. But I want big things. Big big things. Will I achieve them? Probably not. Is that depressing? Not so much... i haven't yet put them into my "goal" category. But I do have some of those-- dreams that are closer to becoming actual goals that i hope one day will actually come to fruition. Sometimes I lack motivation but I believe that deep down, i'm someone who feels passionately about the things I really want and will get them. We'll see.
[...] posted not long ago about dreams and the point of diminishing returns. In fact, I mentioned the specific “dream” I [...]

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