You have doubtless heard the call to “Follow your Dreams”. It is a well meaning cliche, with the goal of encouraging and motivating you to get out and do something worthwhile. The problem that I run into often is that these well meaning cliche’s do not come with practical advice. I get the sense “follow your dreams” is supposed to be a liberating spell–that if you didn’t know you could follow your dreams before, you can now, you have permission, go! Be free!
I am an overthinker by nature, my numerous flaws are tempered by what I hope we can agree is a good intention; otherwise what raw clay composes my person and nature has been and is being formed by God, now that I have come into the Church and have a more proper understanding of who I am in relation to Him. So when I hear the phrase “Follow your Dreams” I automatically subdivide it this way: How do I follow? What are my Dreams? If you do not enjoy the same kind of brain I have, this probably seems like a silly question. No worries, read no further–follow your dreams to a different article! For the rest of you, allow me to expand on these two questions.
The question “What are my dreams?” first came to mind some months ago. I can’t remember having a strong idea of what I wanted to be when I grew up; I don’t remember having heroes or idols I wanted to emulate. I’ve always been somewhat independent and autonomous, and I don’t really mean that in a good way. It has left me with a strong—strong—sense of bootstrapping. That whatever I do I can and must do on my own, relying on no one. You might think this is a virtue, but absent direction and faith, it fruitlessly serves no end. It wasn’t until I became Catholic that I understood what it meant to bring my concerns to God. This has helped insofar as I have begun turning to God for aid and relying less on my own plans and committing myself to His. Yet my plans still need direction.
A natural question at this point is “How did you make decisions before you started asking about your dreams?”–the answer is “poorly”. I took jobs because I needed jobs, I took the position that I was a tree and once I could set down roots I could grow into whatever direction I wanted, given enough time and consistency. I am a very patient person, and I had this vague notion that things tomorrow would be better than they are today, and that I just needed to wait and keep working. That’s not really a plan, as you can see. That is stagnation. Two camels in the desert could believe that rain is coming but the one that survives will be the one that goes looking for the oasis.
So given that the two key aspects of considering my dreams are direction and faith, I’ve got my faith down and am figuring it out with fear and trembling; what about direction? Where do I want to go?
The question is a scary one if you’ve never really thought about it. My first reaction was to feel a sense of spiritual vertigo. Like being the leader of an expedition in the wilderness, and looking at the map and suddenly not knowing where to go. I’ve written about some aspect of this sense before. Not just “where should I go”–that is an easy escape because it puts responsibility for choosing direction on someone else. Neither just “Where do I want to go” because what we want is not always what is best. Both questions are prevarication. The key thought is “Where am I going?” It is important to have direction and pursue it with diligence and decision. “Where am I going” requires an understanding of where exactly you are. What are the circumstances of your life–these make the raw materials with which your future will be crafted. You can then draw a line clearly to see where your life is going. It’s not too late to change it, or to solidify it.
And this is the final and most important part of the question of “What are my dreams?” Dreams are not lofty goals, they are not ambitions, they are not ends. Dreams are directions. I’ve never dreamed of being famous, I’ve never dreamed of renown, but I have dreamed of being useful, of doing something meaningful. I don’t want to be an astronaut, I do want to be good. I didn’t dream of being an accountant, but now that I am one, I can be the best accountant I can be. Being an accountant is an end, being a good accountant is a direction.
The second part of this is “How do I follow?” The answer is frustratingly simple: Do the work. If you have clarified your dream (your direction) then the steps you have to take to follow it become a little easier. Lets suppose you actually have the dream of being a good accountant. Well, the first thing you can do is learn. Learning is how you can enhance your craft, understand the ins and outs relevant to accounting (or anything), find a story of a good accountant whom you would like to emulate, learn their life story, learn the steps they took, learn the lessons they learned. The second thing you can do is work. Work as an accountant. Seek feedback. Gather data on your work product so you can make it better and learn lessons from it. The third thing you can do is to push yourself. Set a goal–a goal is specific and actionable and relevant. Set the right goal–if there is an award at your organization for being the best accountant, push yourself to win that award. Push yourself to win that award for multiple consecutive years. Set your sights higher and higher. The final thing you can do is pray. Pray that God will guide your pursuit, and that God will make straight the path to success.
Understand, then, that your dreams will never be attainable. They tell you the direction you are going, but be open that God may lead you to an unexpected place.
And now we know: When people say “Follow your dreams” what they really mean is Pray, Learn, Work, and Push yourself to define a direction for your life in accordance with God’s will.
But it’s still shorter to say, “Follow your dreams!”
AMDG
Times-Dispatch of Vichy Earth 