What If You Outgrow Your Dreams?

Outgrowing your dreams not only happens, but it will most likely occur when you least expect it.

So, is outgrowing your dreams a bad thing?  

Well, it really depends on how you look at it and what you do about it. The key is to focus on the part that really matters and not get caught up in the part that feels like a huge, blundering mis-step.

When you first suspect that you are outgrowing your dreams, it is easy to feel unsettled and lose sight of purpose and achievement.  That’s why it’s important to understand the shoe concept.

Let’s rewind to the moment in time when you first became aware that you had potential to go places. Like your first real pair of got-to-have-‘em, cool shoes, you put those dreams on your feet and began trying to Get There. Like your talent and skills, no one really knew how big your feet would become.  And, nobody—except maybe that fresh-faced, early version of you—imagined that one pair of lace-up, red sneakers would be a perfect fit for the rest of your life.

Your Dreams are like your shoes.  Put them on and wear them out.  Enjoy them while they last.  Understand that your shoes can only do so much.  Realize that back when you set goals to get where you now are, you probably lacked awareness about the growth capacity of your own talents and abilities. You also lacked real knowledge of career opportunities…and, even if you knew it all, opportunities that once existed have probably changed by now.

Don’t ever doubt who you are or what you’re doing because you’ve hit a growth spurt and your toes feel cramped.  Likewise don’t doubt who you are or what you’re doing if the world mysteriously shifts its style and you feel like you don’t belong.  Your Dreams aren’t useless when the seasons change or the fashion shifts.  Know that by the very nature of chasing your dreams, you will sometimes step in a wad of gum or worse.

Most of all, think about this: Dreams are like shoes: you may wear them out and need to replace them, you may outgrow them and need a larger size, you may need more than one pair, you may even need a special pair for this season…but no matter what, it’s not the shoes or the world outside that can make you go—it’s your feet.

Are you outgrowing your dreams? Maybe so.  But relax…New dreams, same feet.