Why You Are Never Too Old To Pursue Your Dreams In Life

5 Reasons to Never Quit on What’s Most Important to You

Our dreams are a representation of who we are and what we consider to be important to us.

From an early age, we all have dreams and part of our journey in life is making those dreams come true. Even though we have dreams that are important to us, many people stop pursuing them because they believe it’s too late or they’re too old.

Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist, says, “People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.”

People often justify giving up on their dreams by saying they’re being responsible or the time isn’t right. There will never be a perfect time to do something because things or conditions are always changing.

If those who aren’t willing to pursue their dreams are honest with themselves, they’ll admit they have some level of fear and resistance that’s preventing them from taking the necessary steps to make their dreams come true.

The truth is we’re never too old to purse our dreams!

In the 1990s, there was a single mum, with a young daughter, who was struggling to make ends meet, living on government aid in the UK. Having put away her dreams of being a writer for many years, she felt she had nothing else going for her except to write a story that she felt compelled to share.

You are never too old to follow your dreams

She wrote in cafés while her young daughter was asleep and the story of “Harry Potter” was born. Even though she received many rejections from book publishers when she first sent our her manuscript, she stayed persistent and finally, a publishing house in London gave her a chance.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was released to the world and as the saying goes, “The rest is history.” This single mum was JK Rowling, who has gone on to become one of the most successful authors in history, releasing seven books in the Harry Potter series.

The world would have missed out on the adventures of Harry Potter had JK Rowling quit on her dreams.

Age, circumstances, economic conditions or education shouldn’t matter if we truly want to make our dreams come true. We were given our dreams so that we can make them a reality. It’s up to us to do so.

5 Reasons Why You Should Never Quit on Your Dreams

  1. You will not have regrets. It’s better to have tried and not succeeded than to have not tried at all. Even if we don’t succeed initially, that doesn’t mean we cannot try again by taking a different approach. Sometimes we encounter obstacles because our determination and commitment is being tested.
  2. You will learn more about yourself. Pursuing something that is challenging will cause us to grow into the person we need to become to achieve our dreams. We’ll tap into resources within us that we never knew we had, while developing more of our true potential. The more we grow, the more confidence we’ll gain, which will inspire us to pursue bigger and bigger dreams.
  3. You will leave a legacy. There are amazing and inspiring stories of people who have impacted the world because they had the courage to pursue their dreams. A great example is Walt Disney, who created the Disney characters when he was in his fifties and last left a lasting legacy. While all dreams may not have such an impact, it will matter to us and the people in our lives.
  4. You will inspire others. One of the most rewarding things for us is to have someone say they were inspired by us in some way, whether that’s to pursue a dream they had or become a better person. By having the courage to pursue our dreams, we show others what’s possible.
  5. You will live a happier, fulfilled life. Our dreams are a part of us and our experience of life. Pursuing, achieving, living and sharing our dreams will bring us great joy and fulfilment. Living a life while pursuing our dreams is better than not having any dreams.

How to Start Pursuing a New Dream

Here are some things to keep in mind when pursuing dreams.

  1. Build a picture of what your dream is.
  2. Visualise it so it’s ingrained in you.
  3. Develop a plan to make it a reality.
  4. Take the first step you can or know.
  5. Ask for support and share your dream with someone else.
  6. Review your progress regularly and make adjustments as required.
  7. Celebrate any milestones achieved along the way.

Life is better when we’re pursuing and living our dreams. We’re never too old to pursue our dreams and it’s never too late to make a dream come true.

Action Step: Reconnect to a dream that’s important to you that you may not have given as much attention to recently. Reflect on whether that dream is still important to you and if it is, apply some of the ideas mentioned above to start making that dream a reality.

Question: What is something else to remember if we start thinking we’re too old to pursue our dreams?

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