When Should You Prioritize Your Dreams?

At first glance, most of my friends or relatives look very happy and are leading comfortable and successful lives. They have good education and well paying jobs, nice families, good social life and seem to be living the life of their dreams. But as we start talking about our life trajectories, I sometimes start hearing a slight regret, or a tinge of disappointment. Many times I hear them casually commenting on how dreams and passions are different from practical responsibilities. The closer I get to a person, the more I feel that it's not that they don't have dreams, it's just that they seem impossible. And some have kept their dreams alive, but are waiting for that perfect time when they can start prioritizing themselves, like when the kids are in college, or when they've paid out their home loans, or when they retire from their current job. It seems that they are settling down because of fear of disappointments.

My husband and I moved from well paying IT jobs and a very comfortable lifestyle in order to follow his dream to work towards environmental sustainability as I was expecting my second baby with a very active toddler running around. Through the years he was able to obtain his doctorate in the field of his passion, and also find the kind of scientific jobs that were most fulfilling to him making his dreams reality. I thrived in my role of supporting the family, changing my job when I felt stuck or unfulfilled. I had this dream of being a school teacher since my childhood days, and I was able to realize that over the years. It's a different story that I discovered that even though teaching children was as rewarding and impactful as I had always imagined, there were a lot of aspects that made the experience very exhausting, and evidence of results was more important to the schools than the actual impact. Long story short, I felt that even though I could prove that I was a very good teacher, I had a lot more to offer than I could in that role. This does not mean there was a fault in that dream, just that the dream was still alive but maybe bigger.

Making a map to our dreams does not mean giving up on our responsibilities, rather many times taking care of our loved ones is very much a part of our bigger dream. I was able to switch back to IT when life circumstances demanded, but not in the very technical role that I did not enjoy, but rather in a more suitable management position where I could make more meaningful contributions. But somewhere I always had this vision of helping others feel fully alive and live in sync with their true intrinsic values. This dream is why I was drawn to teaching and mentoring whenever I could get a chance in life. Though somewhat fulfilled as I transitioned through various changes in my career while adapting to life's current demands, I had a vision of making a larger impact and each day I was reminded that the need was stronger. Keeping that vision in sight I keep moving in that direction. If I have learnt one thing from my life, it is the fact that whenever we decide to make something a reality, it's a lot easier than we had imagined, and the universe does come together to support in magical ways. It's just about taking that first step, and suddenly a light switches on and the darkness and confusion disappears. This has been true for me and my husband and the few people I know who never settled for just getting by.

So when do you think you should start prioritizing your dreams? Remember, you are so much closer to everything you want than you could possibly imagine - just take that first step!