It’s a Sin to Settle on a Smaller Dream

by Emily Jasper on April 12, 2010

Do you ever give up a dream? Make a compromise that seems too much like a major sacrifice? Do you stop thinking of yourself and make decisions for others?

When it comes to planning ahead for the future, we want to accomplish everything that we were told we could do since we were kids. Being raised thinking about how the world is our oyster. We can make anything happen.

Then we grow up. There are people who feel that a generation has been petted to the point that they can’t handle tough reality. We need to forget our dreams.

But why?

I want to do something great. I want to change the world. I have no idea how; I just know I want to do it at some point in my life. Every decision I make is going to take me closer to that goal.

When it comes to thinking about the future, I can rarely give you the specifics. I love to plan, but I’m so open to possibility, I’m not sure what the future will look like. I have big dreams, though, and I know it takes deliberate steps to get there.

And those steps are my own to make.

The sense of entitlement that people attribute to Gen-Y includes an assumption that we are unwilling to put in the work (or time) to get to big dreams. But then why force us to give up the dream? Why not explain steps? Or tell us about your steps? Remember, we like to learn.

I don’t want to dismiss that there are some people who aren’t willing to put in the effort to get somewhere. Sure, it’d be easiest to have everything handed to us, but my group has a number of Gen-Yers who think the journey is just as important.

So why crush the dream? It’s a waste of potential.

Do you dream big?

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