A couple of weeks ago I met with a gentleman at the BBC to discuss the opportunity of working with his team, and when he replied to my follow-up email he said he wanted to contribute something to my blog, a quote by the British author Rose Tremain. That quote is "Life is Not a Dress Rehearsal".
It's true of course. Life is definitely not a dress rehearsal. No matter how you want to look at it, this is very much the main event, and we only get one chance at it.
Over the ensuing days after our meeting I pondered on these six words and reflected back on what I have achieved so far in my life. I remembered the goals I wrote down when I was still a teenager - goals I wanted to attain by the time I reached a certain age - and was thrilled to realise that I have achieved all but one of them (yes I'm still writing the book). My life has turned out just the way I had wanted it to, and being aware of this made me feel immensely proud that I have been brave enough to take all the necessary steps to make it happen. At that very moment in time, I believed there was nothing I would ever change about my life.
But now something has happened to challenge that belief. A family member has just been diagnosed with lung cancer. It is in the advanced stages, and he only has a few weeks left. After receiving this news, and thinking about what he had done with his life, I quickly realised that I do have more goals I want to achieve, and more things I want to change.
For most of us, it takes a big bump in the road, such as the sudden illness of a friend or loved one, to make us sit down and really take stock of our lives. It is human nature to behave in this way when something truly life-changing occurs. But my question to you is, why wait for such a catalyst to appear? Why not make those changes now, without waiting for an excuse to do so?
I often hear people say that they have too much responsibility to afford the "luxury" of changing their lives or pursuing their dreams. They have a family to take care of, a demanding boss, debts up to their eyeballs or their child's future to think about. And while I am not advocating that you turn your (and their) life upside down, I am inviting you to pause for a moment and really look for ways that you can start incorporating the necessary changes into your life to enable you to start realising your dreams. Even if you only take baby steps, each small step will bring you closer to living the life you really want.
Nothing in this world happens without action. Change requires action, and if you want to change your life you need to act today. Not tomorrow, not next week, not next month or next year. You need to do it today.
We all deserve to live the life of our dreams, but we only get one chance at it. Don't wait until you get to the final chapter in your life before you realise that it wasn't a dress rehearsal, it was very much the main event.
Write down your goals, write down what you want to change in your life, and then get out there and take action to make it happen.
Web: www.caterpillar-coaching.co.uk
