Wild blue yonder
Perfect.
The story started a long time ago. It starts with our parents. Then our teachers and our peers, our colleagues, our bosses. The story of our lives. We want to please, to do what’s right. Or what we think they think is right. We let these influencers shape the story, but it’s your life, your story. You are the author of your own story. The creative license is yours. You can revise, edit, rewrite and change the story any way you wish.
Sure there are possibly some constraints, but thinking you can’t is just defeatist. Keep the things you love, get rid of the things you hate, work with the things that may pose a challenge and start rewriting your story. What are you afraid of? What’s really stopping you? You need to lose weight before taking up belly dancing? What will people think if they find out you’re writing erotic fiction? Okay, maybe it’s a little late to audition for Cirque du Soleil, but maybe not. Who knows until you try, right? If not all the way, take it as far as you can. This doesn’t have to be about reinventing yourself, if you don’t want it to be. This could be just about dusting off some dreams. The possibilities are limitless.
Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t — you’re right.
— Henry Ford
Not sure what you want to do next? Looking for new possibilities? Do some “blue sky” thinking, a.k.a. fantasizing. How? Start with a wish. It can be anything you’ve been pining for. Then take it a step further. Take that wish and go wild with it. Then go even further – make it a fantasy, a seemingly impossible something. Then take your ultimate fantasy and distill it down to some core, its essence or minimal requirements and write down at least three things you could do to get there. Fun, huh? (Adapted from: Blue Sky Thinking guidebook)
Now you know what you need to do, how do you get there? That may take a little planning and gumption. There may be a little boat rocking along the way. Be honest with yourself and those around you. It’ll ease the stress if you are. Even if it is a bit rocky, you are in command of your life. You get to choose how the story goes.
What’s your wild blue yonder? You don’t have to live in fame or go down in flame, but a little soaring never hurt anyone, right?
Tell us about your next chapter? Where will you take your story? We want to hear.
I just got back from a walk, where I was trying to introduce this very “exercise” to my husband – something I usually do alone in my journal: what’s the ideal, and how can we introduce even the slightest element of that in our current life. Why wait for retirement and “some day”?
Perfect.