We all have our personal fantasylands. We go there when we’re stressed. Sometimes it’s just fun to let your mind wander and think good thoughts. That’s your fantasyland. Your sweet spot.
What’s yours?
Like a good friend of mine who lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, do you dream of a smooth morning and evening commute, getting to work and home on time with no stresses, your personal engine revved? If so, you have a powerful fantasy you’re keeping alive.
Do you think your seventh grade son is going to become a pro baseball player? Whew, are you ever living in a fantasyland. You’re dreaming. Look at the statistics on what it takes to make the JV or high school team. Then intensify those odds to play college. Then ratchet those odds up again to make it to the minor leagues. Then raise the odds higher if he’s to get promoted to higher level minor leagues or ultimately the majors. Good luck. Remember it’s a fantasy.
Do you fantasize about owning a Mercedes SUV? Well, you might want to start with your sights a lot lower and begin with being able to afford a secondhand car that’s functional, is low emissions and reliable. If you can get that far with an initial vehicle purchase and you work tremendously hard over many, many years and you make a high-end income (unrealistic for 98% of the United States population), then maybe you could consider an $80,000 vehicle. If you live this fantasy, you’ll be sorely frustrated.
Do you fantasize, like I do, that the college where you went to school, will have an elite football, basketball or baseball program? Forget about it. Acknowledge all the other teams out there which also seek to compete and win at the highest levels and realize some teams will finish at the bottom of their leagues, some in the middle and some consistently at the top. A fair fantasy recognizes the occasional bursts of greatness for a university’s sports program. Accommodate this mentality and accept that once in a while or once in a great while you may win the league championship and have a chance to do some damage in the post-season. But keep fantasizing. We all do it.
Do you imagine having the body of a world-class athlete? Well, you better have the drive and time to make that happen because without a tremendous commitment to getting your body there, no matter what type of event you want to compete in, it ain’t gonna happen without months, if not years, of sweating, grunting, straining and upping your game. You can do it. But forget about the rest of your life.
We’re battered with messages about who we can be, what we can accomplish if we just work hard enough and stick with it. That’s a solid message, but temper it with realism regarding your talents and commitment to making something extraordinary happen.
“Extraordinary” is a great word, because it captures the high intensity necessary for greatness, or to bring a fantasy to reality. Certainly, it can be done. But for most people it makes a lot more sense to set logical, practical goals that drive you and can actually be accomplished by a normal human being.
“I got to work this morning and was only ten minutes late after that pile-up by the airport. Whew, I feel good.” Now that’s an accomplishment that marries your fantasy to reality.
What’s yours?
Like a good friend of mine who lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, do you dream of a smooth morning and evening commute, getting to work and home on time with no stresses, your personal engine revved? If so, you have a powerful fantasy you’re keeping alive.
Do you think your seventh grade son is going to become a pro baseball player? Whew, are you ever living in a fantasyland. You’re dreaming. Look at the statistics on what it takes to make the JV or high school team. Then intensify those odds to play college. Then ratchet those odds up again to make it to the minor leagues. Then raise the odds higher if he’s to get promoted to higher level minor leagues or ultimately the majors. Good luck. Remember it’s a fantasy.
Do you fantasize about owning a Mercedes SUV? Well, you might want to start with your sights a lot lower and begin with being able to afford a secondhand car that’s functional, is low emissions and reliable. If you can get that far with an initial vehicle purchase and you work tremendously hard over many, many years and you make a high-end income (unrealistic for 98% of the United States population), then maybe you could consider an $80,000 vehicle. If you live this fantasy, you’ll be sorely frustrated.
Do you fantasize, like I do, that the college where you went to school, will have an elite football, basketball or baseball program? Forget about it. Acknowledge all the other teams out there which also seek to compete and win at the highest levels and realize some teams will finish at the bottom of their leagues, some in the middle and some consistently at the top. A fair fantasy recognizes the occasional bursts of greatness for a university’s sports program. Accommodate this mentality and accept that once in a while or once in a great while you may win the league championship and have a chance to do some damage in the post-season. But keep fantasizing. We all do it.
Do you imagine having the body of a world-class athlete? Well, you better have the drive and time to make that happen because without a tremendous commitment to getting your body there, no matter what type of event you want to compete in, it ain’t gonna happen without months, if not years, of sweating, grunting, straining and upping your game. You can do it. But forget about the rest of your life.
We’re battered with messages about who we can be, what we can accomplish if we just work hard enough and stick with it. That’s a solid message, but temper it with realism regarding your talents and commitment to making something extraordinary happen.
“Extraordinary” is a great word, because it captures the high intensity necessary for greatness, or to bring a fantasy to reality. Certainly, it can be done. But for most people it makes a lot more sense to set logical, practical goals that drive you and can actually be accomplished by a normal human being.
“I got to work this morning and was only ten minutes late after that pile-up by the airport. Whew, I feel good.” Now that’s an accomplishment that marries your fantasy to reality.
