We all experience times when we think about what we have achieved in our life and then compare that to where we thought we would be by this time of our life.  This thought process then leads to the inevitable series of ‘if only’ dreaming.  ‘If only I had finished school’.  ‘If only I had gotten that job’.  ‘If only I had won that contest’.  ‘If only.. if only …. If only..’.  What are you ‘if only dreaming’ about?  What’s holding you back from accomplishing those ‘if only’ dreams?

In most cases it’s not ‘what’s holding you back’, but ‘who’s holding you back’.  And the answer to that is ‘YOU’!  There are some instances of unavoidable circumstances that have prevented some of us from achieving our goal, but for the most part, it is our own thinking that has prevented us from achieving our dreams. 

Our fear of trying to do something and failing has a way of causing us to not even try.  Have you ever dreamed about achieving a goal?  But in order to achieve that goal you must expose your ideas to others including friends and relatives who fear will tell you that there is no way you could be successful in achieving that goal and you would be crazy for even trying.  Then you begin to think about what would happen if you try and it doesn’t work.  You will have face all those people who told you not to do that.  You can hear them now - saying ‘I told you so’.  'I told you so' rings in your ears so loud that you immediately decide that this goal is not worth the effort and potential humiliation.

Now the question we must ask ourselves is – ‘In the next 10, 20, 30 years from now, who will be responsible for my position in life?’  Will I be able to accept that responsibility because I tried and yes, sometimes failed, or will I still be saying ‘if only ..  if only … if only…’.

-  Joe Freeman