You Best Believe

This is the time of year where dreams start flowing like swiftly moving rivers, carrying us away and making us feel like anything is possible. I don’t know about you, but I love it when people dream. I fondly remember a girl two years ago who about this time of year decided that she was going to St. Croix to attempt to earn a Hawaii qualifying spot in May of the following year. If you would have asked around if she had the track record to do it, I think the answer would have been a resilient “not so much.”

Do you know what the best part of dreaming is? No one can put a limit on it. It’s in your own mind, and it’s just for you and no one else. You can choose to never say a word, or tell a thousand people - it's your call. How many things would have never been done if someone who really believed in something had let the secret out and then decided everyone else was right when the idea got shot down before it even had the outline of wings.

There’s a catch though, if you think your dream is in fact possible, then that’s where the work really begins. Then that dream becomes a goal, and it must be broken down into smaller goals and steps toward making it happen. You don’t even have to have a timeline on it, but it’s still necessary to break it down into pieces to make it more manageable.

Then, with each passing day, you have to believe that what you’re doing is bringing you one step closer to your goal/dream.

Decisions about how we’re going to spend our time and energy come at us a million miles an hour, every single day. We’re forced to prioritize our lives in order to retain some sort of balance and not to mention good ole sanity! A speaker once made the statement about the decision making process, she said “You have to constantly ask yourself, is saying yes to this particular thing, or taking this particular path, bringing me closer to or farther away from the women (person) I want to be?” I thought that was a very insightful statement, and I'm planning to use it in 2010 as I go on my merry dreaming way.

So, where is all this going? I guess I can’t help but be a dreamer this time of year and I know I’m not alone. Without dreams our lives seem a little more like a black and white photo than a colorful vibrant painting. Dreams challenge us, force us to look inward, and give us a sense of purpose as we go about our day.

I want to start dreaming again, and I have been. I’m starting to believe again. In what you ask, well, that’s TBD, but mostly in myself, my spirit, and that love can be transferred to and through other people as we follow our heart. When the alarm sounds at 5:00am, and it’s cold and dark outside, you best be believing in your dreams because it’s a constant struggle sometimes. Life beats you down, responsibilities are necessary and sometimes what you’re doing day in and day out doesn’t seem to be helping you make one bit of progress. It’s not a matter of if you will get to that place; it’s a matter of when. Sometimes the best thing you can do is get out of your own way and move on.

Now is the time to dream big, to write it down and remember it during those stretches where you’re feeling like nothing is worth it. There will be times where the only thing that keeps you going is the fact that investing in the edification of yourself and others will ultimately be the best return of all.

I have a shirt I wear sometimes. It’s one of my favorites. It simply says:

I Believe.

So, don’t think I’ve been sitting over here on my sling laden hiney wallowing over the world as it is. I’ve been dreaming in vivid hues, I’ve been planning, looking at the numbers, and setting a few goals of my own. Heck, after two weeks of nothing back in November, I was back at the gym doing what I love (and because I was driving everyone around me crazy). Oh lifting a thing called weights...oh yeah.. I remember you, quadriceps screaming, hamstrings hurting, and three sets of lunges later, I'm wondering how I ever stopped I love lifting so much. I’ll bank some of that strength, thank you. I’ll be sore now so I don’t have to do it during the season, and I’ll start gearing up because when this baby comes off my arm, you best believe I’m coming out swinging.

So, enjoy your new year everyone..and don’t be afraid to enlist the help of a few others that will believe right there with you. When you can’t even walk, and you're forced to crawl along, they’ll carry you…I promise. Happy New Year to all my wonderful friends and family. I love you now, in 2010 and beyond!

Here’s a new song I feel was written just for me in the new year.. hopefully, you’ll love it too…