When I was in elementary school I was lucky enough to be one of the kids who got to ride the very big yellow limousine to school. AKA The School Bus!
I grew up on Vancouver Island and the house I lived in with my family sat upon a small acreage with a very long driveway. I remember the rush each morning to make sure we were out the door and ready in time for that bus coming.
Most days you could count on seeing our little legs running as fast as they could. Large over-sized backpacks bobbing up and down on our backs as we went. Huffing and puffing as we waited, my little brother and I would wonder “Did we miss it?” Then we would hear it, seconds later we watched it as it came up our street.
Away we went to school.
On our bus ride home each day our house was one of the last stops of the day. We had the same bus driver for years and years and I remember her vividly. Her name was Mrs. Clarke. She had to have been in her 50’s. She was kind, fun, easy to talk to and didn’t put up with any nonsense from the trouble makers. She ran a tight bus and it was always spic and span.
My most vivid memory from those early days with Mrs. Clarke is something that she said almost every day. As we passed by this one specific house on our bus route she would say,
“There it is, that’s my dream house, that’s where I want to live and retire one day.” This house overlooked the ocean and was a beautiful A-frame house with the entire front made of windows.
I was of course young at the time, maybe 8 or 9. I remember wondering why Mrs. Clarke said this almost everyday as we went by. What was taking her so long? “You should buy it” I would say. I wanted her to have this house that she had been drooling over for years.
For me, young and naive it didn’t really seem like a big deal. If you want the house, then just buy it. Just retire. Figure out how to get the house if that’s what you want.
You’ve got to love kids for their logical thinking. To us though, maybe that kind of thinking seems illogical! But what if it’s not? What if we could have anything in this life that we wanted?
So often my clients talk about changes they want to make in their life and dreams they fantasize about. This might be a new job that allows them more flexibility with their families. Starting a business of their own. Losing weight for good. Having more time. Travelling the world.
If my younger self was talking she’d say “What’s the hold up? If you want it then go and get it.” But somewhere in between bus rides and learning to drive myself to school, I even began to believe for whatever reason, that going after dreams was maybe a little bit irresponsible. Maybe a big part of me also started to believe that I didn’t have the skills or talents necessary to have or be what I wanted to.
Anyone out there have a similar experience? Our brains believe all sorts of things that aren’t true. The truth is that our brain just wants to keep us safe. Safe usually means that we show up small. It means we procrastinate self improvements that would get us closer to our goals.
What are some of your beliefs around your dreams or goals? Do you believe that you can create your life?
I don’t know what Mrs.Clarke’s real beliefs about her dream house were. Spoiler alert** I don’t even have a tingly ending to share about how she lived happily ever after in the house by the ocean. But what will your happily ever after look like?
How will your dream story end? Will you still be talking about the same dream house in 5 years from now, or will you be living in it?
The ending is up to you.
