Monday, June 25, 2012

Follow Your Dreams But Do It Now!


The poster picture above made me smile. Not only is it a pretty picture with soothing colors, it says something profound. 

I can't begin to count the number of times I've heard people from my generation say I'm too old to use a computer. Or they say they're too old to travel overseas anymore or too old to enter a competition of some sort. 

Yes, some do have physical limitations that hold them back, but a good many are fully capable of learning new things, achieving new goals and making their mark in this world. It can be a little frightening to venture into unknown waters but it can be done. Suck up your fears and be a little adventurous. You still have time.

I've noted here before that I did not start writing until I was into my fifties. I must admit that I wondered if it was too late to delve into the writing world when many people were counting the years to retirement. But writing had been a longtime dream. What was the worst that could happen? I might turn out to be the most awful writer on the planet--fail miserably. I'd never know unless I tried. It was like diving off a high board into deep water before you knew how to swim. But jump I did, and instinct to swim through those writing waters kept me afloat. 

I know a good many other writers who didn't start writing until after age 50. Read about some of them in an article I wrote several years ago. "Is It Too Late?" has been published several times. Reading the stories of the writers I interviewed for the article may be the inspiration you need to follow a dream you may have put on hold. 

Your dream may not be writing. It could be any number of things, but don't wait any longer to do the things you really want to do. Take that long-dreamed-of trip. Try painting. Learn ceramics or sculpting. Write a poem. Go up in a hot air balloon. Whatever it is, start working on it now. 

3 comments:

  1. I, too, started writing in my fifties. My goal now is to be like all the 80-year-olds in my writing group!

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  2. My post today is along the same lines. I want to make sure that I continue to follow my dreams.

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  3. I am a mid-centurian as well. I have just finished writing my first book for children, and hope to have it published before the end of the year. Thank you for the encouraging and inspiring thoughts here.

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