Source: we-must.com
A lot of people hope for a better future just because that seems to be giving them a relief of the current despair in which they might be in, despite the fact that they are not currently doing anything that would turn that into reality.
There’s a story that comes from the tradition of the Desert Fathers, who lived in the wastelands of Egypt about 1700 years ago. In the tale, couple of monks named Theodore and Lucius shared the acute desire to go out and see the world. Since they’d made vows of contemplation, however, this was not something they were allowed to do. So, to satiate their wanderlust, Theodore and Lucius learned to “mock their temptations” by relegating their travels to the future. When the summertime came, they said to each other, “We will leave in the winter.” When the winter came, they said, “We will leave in the summer.” They went on like this for over fifty years, never once leaving the monastery or breaking their vows. –“Vagabonding: An Uncommon Guide to the Art of Long-Term World Travel” by Rolf Potts
It seems like a myth, but when we take a closer look at this, we are able to deduce from this tale that we are not too far from this type of postponing living our present lives and also preparing for a better future. We are used to hear ambitious goals like “Yes, one day I will start my own company,” “Soon I will invent the new mobile app that will be the most rated one on App Store and Google Play,” or “I will travel the world”. However most of this desires only stay on paper and the dreamers are usually not doing anything at all to accomplish them.
I am not saying that it is bad to have such ambitious goals. In fact, I can congratulate you for such goals, but I am trying to let you know that if you are not putting any effort, your future will not become better and your goals will still stay as illusions, and you might even give up setting goals at all.
If you have a clear vision about your future and have decided to turn your goals into reality, start working. No matter how small, or how bad you start, it is important to make the first leap. If you are able to do that, you are separating yourself from a lot of other people who are still fantasizing about their ways of changing the world. After the first step, try to take another small one that will help you get closer to your destination. Do no try to eat an elephant all at once, but try to eat one small chunk at a time.
Do not forget to have a plan, but get ready to be flexible in your course and stay committed to your final end point. It may sound a bit controversial, but it is not: You are planning to achieve a goal, and there might be different routes towards it. The most important thing is to not stop acting. As Malcolm X said, “The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.”
