Let’s Talk About Dreams, Baby

Dreaming is such a wonderful thing. I dream of sandy beaches, white snowy plains to cross-country ski, sailing in summer, having a beautiful house with a huge garden.

And then I dream of doing some great things like – do really savvy investments, become a really good climber, work as a board member of an ethically conscious company.

Dreams change. They should. We change. And yet, we sometimes feel ashamed that our dreams change. We shouldn’t.

When I grew up my dream was to become a fashion designer and a judge. I didn’t quite know what any of them were. And it didn’t matter. I became a lawyer. And I did tailor training for a year. As a gap year when I was in law school. I didn’t really like the sawing. I liked the creative process – that was it. I did not see myself in art school having to actually create and make my designs. In Elizabeth Gilbert’s words – I was not ready for the shit sandwich, i.e. putting in the hours of not so fun work.

It was a very valuable lesson. I had dated my dream, and I had learned that I did not want to hook up with it.

A few years back I left my career as a lawyer to work as a coach. During the transition time, I started dreaming of being more outdoors. I would look out my office window and dream of long days in nature. I left my job. And a year later my dream and yearning for more time in nature was still strong. So I signed up for a part-time course in outdoor studies at the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences. After one year I was ready to take the big leap – make the outdoors a part of my everyday life. I moved to Volda to start my bachelor’s degree in outdoor adventure training.

I know it is super valuable to dream and then to date your dream. Just thinking about it will not do it. You have to feel it, touch it, smell it. And then you know – is it a keeper or not?

What dream are you dating?