What Kind of Future Do You Want to Create?

I once had a vision of a life, a glimpse of one possible future version of me who was old and lying on my deathbed. There was no one at my bedside, not even a pet. I felt sad, lonely and empty except for the fullness of regrets. I regretted a few of the things I had done, but mostly they were regrets of things left undone.

In this version of my life, I had lived a mediocre existence. I had allowed my fears to dictate my choices. I had made decisions based on what others wanted for me instead of what I wanted for myself.

I had never fully admitted to myself what it was I truly desired. What I truly desired, what my soul came into this life to do, had been too frightening, too big, too spectacular to admit. It would require too much of me, and I hadn’t thought I could ever dare to actually do it.

So, in that life, I had read about amazing people and their amazing lives and watched others live with more courage than I could muster. I had dreamed more than I lived. I had suppressed the disappointment I felt in myself and my life. I let all my dreams fade away, and my soul withered. I had let the sparkle in my eyes disappear.

Laying there on my deathbed in this vision, I realized I had learned a very valuable lesson, and too late.

There’s a big difference between BEING alive and FEELING alive.

While fear can sometimes save lives, it can also destroy them. When fear is allowed to rule a life, it prevents a person from actually living.

When this vision dissolved and I came back to the present in this life, I re-evaluated everything.

I noticed that it’s possible to go through the motions of life without paying attention to the passage of time, without trying new things or stepping outside of a comfort zone. And I wondered, “If I continue down this road, will I have accomplished anything worth doing?”

So, I began to make new choices and step by step carve out a new path for myself, one that I knew would not lead to the vision I had seen.

We each make hundreds of choices every day, and most of them we don’t even think about. We get stuck in habits and routines. We diminish our own capacity for greatness one routine day at a time.

But there is a different way.

There is a version of your life where you lead with courage instead of fear, where you admit to yourself what it is your soul is calling you to do.

There is a possibility for a life where you FEEL ALIVE.

I know which version I choose. How about you?