It’s 1st Dec 2017, 7am and 1-degree Celsius. It started as a usual Friday morning for me. Up at 5:15am, head to the gym for 5:45am, train for 30 mins or so, then by 6:45 I’m on my way out the door for work.
Usually, I’d head to work and spend the day either catching up on work or planning for upcoming projects, campaigns etc.
However, on the 1st I changed my routine, took 30 minutes and parked up the car for a moment, to look out over Sandymount beach. I can only speak on a personal note and from my own experiences, but I can’t remember the last time I actually stopped and literally pressed pause on the chaos which is my life.
People who know me will know that I actually really like this chaos, it keeps me moving forward from one job, challenge and opportunity to the next. It helps me focus myself and find the purpose in what I’m trying to achieve, whatever it may be. A friend of mine said to me recently, “give a busy man a job and he’ll get it done.”
Anyway, the point is, this time I stopped, took a step back from the constant hustle, and it was fantastic. Why was it fantastic? Because it gave me a chance to regroup and reset my mind. I stopped without feeling guilty, without worrying about the next job, without being concerned that I hadn’t sent an email or a text to someone, I stopped focusing on having to complete a transformation challenge I signed up to, I simply took a few minutes and daydreamed. It was refreshing.
It gave me a chance to really day-dream. Daydream is defined as:
“a series of pleasant thoughts that distract one’s attention from the present”.
Pleasant thoughts… Then, why is there sometimes a negativity put on day-dreaming? It is, in fact, a really positive thing to do and something I would encourage more and more people to try. I stopped and in minutes started to think about the important things in my life. And no, not my social media accounts :), but far richer rewarding things in my life. Everyone is different but for me, the most important things are those who are closest to me. Those people I’ve spent years with who know me, at times better than I realise or ever thought.
Yes, as the years go on I’ve lost contact with some people, however, my regards and opinions of them are still as high as they were when we saw each other daily. You see, I took time to day-dream and it reminded me of old friends and past adventures. It reminded me of where I thought I would be at 34… what time of life I thought I’d have, and to be honest, nothing of what I thought at 24 actually panned out the way I envisaged.
You see I always lived life day-to-day and not put a strategy or plan in place around how I want my future to pan out. I always thought and to a point, I still do think that if it’s right for you, then it’s right.
Looking back on it, would I approach things differently yes, however, would the outcome be the same, possibly. I’ve used the ‘what if’ phrase time and time again, however, I tended to do so in a negative light, but now, flip it to a positive and all of a sudden the ‘what if’s’ become, “thankfully it didn’t’ work out like that, otherwise I wouldn’t have done/seen/experienced etc…”
So far things have worked out in many ways, far better than I could have imagined 10 years ago. That’s not to say everything is a bed of roses, to be honest, it’s not, and the last 10 years have been a rollercoaster. Like everyone, this time 10 years ago, we had so many different things and people in our lives.
However, that time to day-dream got me thinking about how lucky I am to still have so many friends and family by my side. It means I get to pick up the phone and say hello… and although I can’t do that with everyone, I’m learning to cherish the time I have rather than imagine ‘what if’ in years to come. That time to day-dream reminded me not to wait for someone else to get in touch with me, it pushed me to get in touch with them. My mind encouraged me to make a few changes in my thinking, to approach certain challenges I face with an open mind.
I’m guilty of getting hung up on my job, my family business, coaching and so much more, when I should be focused on being active with those close to me, because when I retire from whatever job, when the family business is successful and running itself, when I’m too old to coach the rugby team, all that is left is me and my memories. Day dreaming sparked a thought with me in the hope that in time, my memories are filled with good times and laughs with those who mean far more to me than any of the jobs or commitments I’ve invested time into.
So, I encourage whoever takes time to read this attempt at blogging, to day-dream. Take a few minutes to yourself, switch off all the noises and distractions of everyday life and let your mind wander. Give it a chance to unwind and enjoy whatever it has to say to you.
If you are ambitious and inquisitive and dare to dream of what could be in the future, then dare to day-dream about what is actually here in the present.