the strength of your convictions

Yes, Thursday is usually devoted to my TILT posts but it's been a bit of a slow week, there was a lovely party last weekend that I thoroughly enjoyed and I've spent the rest of the past week catching up on work projects, housework in prep for mom's weekend visit, and homework. So with all of that being said, I'll go off on a bit of a "something that made me feel good" post.

Last week, I had a fantastic night out with my cousin, Alysia, who is about to turn 25 and has reached that "what do I do next" stage of life. I remember this point in my life clearly and had a few difficult years of trying to figure out who adult Em is, where she was going, what she wanted to do with her life. It was daunting. Now, five years later, I still have moments where I don't really feel like a grown-up and, at the times when I'm barely paying the bills, I don't always feel like I've got my life together as well as I should. However, last week, Alysia looked at me and said, "Tell me what I should do. Be my life coach." Amusingly, it isn't the first time I've had this similar conversation lately. The people that have asked my advice are anywhere from just graduated high school to late-50s who still don't know what they want to be when they grow up. Alysia told me she clearly remembered when I decided where I was heading with my life and how I had spoken about my goals with such conviction. Which I guess is part of where my "secret" lies. 

So here is my unsolicited advice for all of you lovely people that care enough to read my blog and need a little bit of guidance for the next step in your life:

It is not ever going to be easy. You won't just wake up tomorrow and have all of the answers. In fact, even when you're 90, you probably still won't have all of the answers. 

You have to have an end goal before you can find the steps to get there. I know this sounds obvious but so many people just drift, grasping at whatever comes along, and these are the people that find accomplishing their goals to be a difficult task. Life gets ever so much easier when you have a list of goals (places you want to go, things you want to do, etc). When you know where you're aiming, it's easier to find your footing and the next step along your path.

Dream big. You want to be a Muppet or the voice of a Disney princess? I promise no one will laugh at you if that's what you're really passionate about. No what field you'd like to be in? Find your dream job (the one you'd have a one in a million chance of getting) then work toward it. Even if you don't get there, I bet you find something you like doing just as much. 

Do what you love and love what you do. Yes, we all have to have random jobs that are just there to pay the bills but, when it comes down to what you do with your free time and what you try to build your career on, remember that if you don't love it, it's okay to move on and find something you do.

There is no such thing as failure. You just haven't gotten there yet. It could take you six months or sixty years to achieve all of your goals. Some of them you might outgrow or they will mutate into something different. But if you've spent your entire life working toward your goals, I promise, even if you didn't meet every one of them, you will still have had a pretty fulfilling life and probably found some things you never expected along the way.

In the end, I think it's the strength of your convictions that gets you where you're going. If you believe anything strong enough and are willing to put in the hard work behind it, anything is possible.