Read This If You’re Putting Off Your Dreams For ‘Someday’

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“People wait all week for Friday, all year for summer, all life for happiness.” ~Unknown

I’m not searching for a happy ending; I’m searching for a happy now…a happy middle.

I’m no longer concerned with the “somedays,” when I will finally check off all of the goals on my never-ending bucket list, or the “one day” when I will finally pursue what it is that I so deeply crave. No, I’m concerned with the now.

I’m not going to wait anymore, I’m not going to push aside my happiness to the future.

I’m not going to wait my whole life to find something, or some feeling, that I could be seeking now.

We all have an unspoken tendency to push aside what we want – to wait to obtain it “someday,” rather than to gather up our strength and try to grasp it now. Someday it will happen right? “Things are okay now…but someday I’ll hopefully like my job more….Someday maybe I’ll go back to school for something I care more about…Maybe someday I will move to a new city…”
Why is this how it works? Why do we keep waiting for this vague “someday”? Why are we all suffering from “someday syndrome?”

We keep waiting and waiting, as if waiting is better than taking the plunge. When we feel that life is decent enough, we don’t try to change anything. We just wait for weekends and vacations, the “ups” in a somewhat monotonous life. We are in a world where there are so many expectations to live up to. So many barriers that sometimes hold us back from pursuing the things we truly value. Because of how overwhelmed we are, we just brush aside our stress and say, “oh, things will be better someday.”

Does this sound like you? Don’t feel bad – you’re not the only one.

Part of this is due to the fast pace of the world – it’s hard to keep up with life these days. It’s a game of chronically catching up. It’s running uphill on a never-ending mountain. We worry and worry, and hope for better days ahead, rather than initiating change now.  But what if just this one time, you slow down? What if you take the time to breathe, rather than panic? To think, rather than run? What if you pause for a second and acknowledge what it is that you are waiting for?

Don’t hold off on what you want for “someday.”

You don’t know what is in store for you, and you absolutely do not know where your path may lead. But why wait? We spend so much time in life waiting for things to be better, for things to be right. We put off happiness for “someday,” thinking that if we keep working, maybe in the future we will be happy; hoping that we will be whole. We hope that our wishes for someday will give us enough strength to continue right now, without thinking of ways to enhance our current lives. We push happiness away from us, as if we don’t deserve it, as it can only be a destination, not a transformation. Not a lifestyle. But we do deserve happiness – a lifetime of happiness. We undeniably do.

So stop pushing what you off into the distance, as if happiness should be a trophy that you can only get at the end of the race. Life is not a race. Life is a marathon. Enjoy your life right now, in the moment, during the long stretch. Finally just go for what you want, or take the steps you know you need to get there. Take the plunge into the deep end, with no certainty that you will get what I want. Take the plunge with faith. Because you know what? If you fall and burst to flames? Then so be it. Rise back up like a phoenix, try and try again.

Don’t you want the days to count? The moments to count? Stop and take a moment and realize all of the glorious parts of your life – the people you love, those people who love you, the things that make you smile, and the moments that make your heart race. Walk slowly through your day, minute by minute, and begin to look for the times when you feel genuinely at ease; when you are comfortable with yourself and your surroundings. These are your trophies – these are your moments. And when you are happiest? This is the feeling you should seek; nothing less.

This doesn’t mean you have to drop everything and move mountains. It doesn’t mean you need to rush into anything, or do all of the things you’ve ever wanted at one time. It simply means that you realize that it’s time to try to live the life you’ve always hoped for – to take that extra step in the faith that you are stepping into what is meant for you. 

We can never be sure of what lies ahead of us – but why wait for the what ifs? Why stand by as passengers when we have been given such inexhaustible strength to follow our hearts and dreams?

What power does “someday” have that the present moment lacks? Nothing.

It’s simply a figment of our imagination, a safety net to hold us back from truly being happy now.

So create a life where you don’t have to wait for someday. Reevaluate your life, and make the necessary changes to be happy now…to be mindful of what brings you ease and joy. Let happiness meet you where you are rather than running in circles and seeing happiness somewhere off in the distance.

For better or for worse, this is your life. Right here right now. You have all of the power to make it whatever you want. So take it into your arms and cradle it, nurture it.

When is someday?

Now.

Someday is now.