Turning 'One Day' Into Today

A shift in mindset

Photo by Nik on Unsplash

‘I want to do that ONE day’

How many times have you said that in your lifetime?

I know I have said it more often than I care to admit.

Mostly, I have always had lofty dreams and wishes that never matched my financial situation.

But that hasn’t always been the main or the only reason.

So what prompts us to say it in the first place?

Often, when we hear or read about someone else living our dream.

• Travelling to a wonderful destination

• Retiring to live the life they have always wanted

• Writing a book

• Hiking a trail

• Jumping out of a plane

In short, when confronted with something we have fantasised about doing but never taken steps to do.

Unfortunately, so many of our ‘one day’ dreams never become a reality, because all we do is push the dream into the future void. And we all know tomorrow may never come.

So why do we not fully commit to our dreams, you may ask?

Many reasons.

It could be…

Fear - the dream may push us out of our comfort zone

Ridicule - how will family and friends react to our lofty dreams

Shyness - hard to approach others about the next step in our dream

Time - we are too busy and waiting for that perfect moment

How can we change this ‘one day’ way of thinking and commit more to our dreams?

I have decided to eliminate the saying from my vocabulary. Full stop.

I'm in my 60s and it’s becoming clearer to me every day that I am fast running out of ‘one day’s

I'm lucky I’m still fit and healthy, and I plan on sticking around for a long time. But it’s not guaranteed.

So, from today, I will change

‘I will do that one day’ to

‘I will start working towards that today?’

See the shift in mindset?

It’s active and it’s now. So much more powerful.

It doesn't mean I have to have a perfect plan today. As long as I start it today.

We need to sow the seeds, or we will never reap the benefits.

Small steps towards my dream allow me to tick off along the way.

Maybe step one could be a date for when I want to achieve my dream.

Next, I could set aside time to flesh out this mini-project.

Having a few small achievable steps helps keep the motivation going.

A classic example was writing my first book, Secrets In The Lakes.

‘I want to write a book one day’ was a phrase I said so many times.

I said it so often my daughters got sick of hearing about it and ‘gently’ told me to ‘stop talking about it, Mum, just do it.’

I finally wrote and published my book because I started the task that same day.

Sometimes that is all it takes.

Starting the task and working towards your dream TODAY. Not ONE DAY.

What dreams will you start working towards TODAY?

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Author of Secrets In The Lakes

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