What is realistic?

The other day I spoke to one of my clients, who’s in a state of uncertainty about the future, and she wanted to brainstorm with me about possibilities for her. She wanted to find out what kind of opportunities are out there for her career. What stuck with me in our conversation, was that she said that she wanted to make ‘realistic’ plans.

Now this certainly sounds like a good plan. Who on earth would like to make unrealistic plans? But hey, who knows what realistic is, when it comes to the future?

Isn’t what we would call ‘realistic’, something that you would expect based on the past? And come to think of it, how realistic was it back then? 

Let’s take our current global situation of the pandemic. Less than a year ago this scenario would have been very unrealistic. And yet it has occurred. What about the future? Is it realistic that it will happen again? Well, based on the recent past it is, although not so much time ago it wasn’t. 

Of course this goes the other way around too. Unrealistic things that we like when they occur, we call ‘magic’, a ‘stroke of luck’, a ‘gift’. We hope for these events to occur. We wish for them, but maybe we don’t believe in them. Maybe because we don’t want to be disappointed. 

I get that. But how about not even trying to reach for a dream, by blocking yourself on forehand by labeling it ‘unrealistic’? Not giving the dream any chance to come true, by stopping it in the phase that it’s still only in your head…

Now what would happen if you’d choose to try a step into the direction of your dream?

Yes, you risk disappointment. Disappointment because you’ve tried. Not disappointment because you didn’t. 

Remember “The Top Five Regrets of the Dying” written by Bronnie Ware? Number one regret being “not having had the courage to live a life true to oneself”. Courage is about doing something scary. Feeling the discomfort and doing it anyway. Like in the fairy tales, in real life the courageous get the reward. It’s not guaranteed, but just by trying it becomes a possibility.

My question to you is: what would you like to give a shot? What do you think is worth a try? Something small to get going or something big worth risking? 

There’s no right or wrong answer. It really depends on your character and situation. You might not be ready for a positive change. You might prefer the safety of the known, even though it’s far from ideal. Preferring something external to happen, to change your cards. Or you can take control of the situation, and start shaking your reality, challenging your beliefs of what is possible for you and what is realistic for your future.

Tell me, what do you think? I’d love to hear from you. As you know, I’m all about change, resilience and transformation. I love things growing and developing. 

If you feel like it, I can give you a hand in your journey. Only if you’re ready. 

Let’s go!

Anna