The ‘Follow Your Dream’ Fairytale

It is slightly different terminiology,
However,
I don’t subscribe
To that way
Of thinking.

I don’t believe,
“You’ve gotta follow your dream.”
Is a particularly healthy life plan.

It sounds wonderful.
However,
It is the sort of garbage,
Disney has been selling
For generations.

But whoever decided
That every young person
Must have a dream,
Then dedicate
Their precious years
To pursuing it,
Was selling
A fairytale.

Don’t set the few years you have
Upon a self-destructive trajectory,
Chasing a life
That may be
Unrealistic,
Unattainable,
And impossible
To measure.

Perhaps the person
Who first told you
To follow your dream
Bought the same
Horse-shit themselves
Years before.

I wonder if they ever
Reached theirs?
Perhaps there is
A better way.

Set a goal.
A small one.
Make it achievable.
Make it real.
Make it measurable.

Know where
You’re going.
Identify the milestones
That tell you
You’re getting there.
Then begin.

I did this recently.

I wanted to improve
My writing.
Nothing more.
So I wrote.
For hours.
And hours.
I experimented.
I failed.
A lot.

But slowly,
I improved.
Short-term goal achieved.

Then came
Another thought.

Now that I can do this,
Perhaps I should make
A book.
A logical place
For all those words
To live.

Something to leave for my family
After I am gone.

But I didn’t know
How to make one.
So,
I learned.

Another goal.
Another process.
Another collection of mistakes.

Until eventually,
Short-term goal achieved.

I self-published two books.
A third is on its way.

Perhaps
They’re not great.
Perhaps they are.

That isn’t really
The point.
I did it.
I made something exist
That didn’t exist before
I started the process.

There was no
Lofty dream.

No,

“I shall become
A famous author!”

No,

“I shall be
The next Stephen King!”

Because that,
Is fantasy.

And worse,
It’s a destination
Over which
I have almost no control.

But writing?
I can do that.

Using my imagination?
I can do that too.

Improving?
I can work towards that.

Finishing a book?
I can measure that.

Publishing it?
I can learn how to do that.

So perhaps
Don’t follow your dream.

Follow
The next achievable thing.
Learn something fun.
Make something.
Finish something.
Then decide
What comes next.

Keep your feet
On the ground.
Keep your mind
Joyfully occupied
With things that bring
Personal satisfaction.

And if,
After enough
Small accomplishments,
You turn around
And discover
You’ve travelled far further
Than you expected,
Wonderful.

But don’t sacrifice
The life
You actually have
For some imagined life
You believe
You’re supposed
To reach.

Live today.
Make something today.
Enjoy something today.
Because tomorrow…

Was never
Part of the guarantee.