Someday...

"I gave my life to become the person I am right now. Was it worth it?"*

This is the tag line for the script adaptation I'm currently working on (my scriptfrenzy project).

This tag line has been with me since I first read this book in the late 80's.

We give our lives to be the person we are. And we never really realize the truth in this statement until, if we're lucky enough, our final moments. We spend our lives trying to become someone better, happier. successful.

I recently heard a song with the line "the other side of someday."

Someday never gets here. Will we be a better person someday? Or can we be a better person today? Will we be happier someday? Someday, when? Can we find a way to be happy today? Now? In this moment? This moment is gone in an instant but if we can be happy this moment, and this moment, and this moment, it makes for a happy day, week, month, life.

And being successful is not some measurement we attain someday. It's a state of mind. Whose goal are we trying to measure up to anyway? Someone else's? Why? Your own? Are they realistic? Specific? Attainable?Timely?

When I was younger, I religiously watched Star Trek: The Next Generation. My goal back then for me to feel successful was to have one of my ideas turned into a script to be produced for TNG. Back then, I was far from ever being published or produced. I was far from even submitting. For some reason I thought the show would be around forever so I never even got an idea for the show. I'd say this is definitely not a timely goal. But I set myself up for failure. I'd never be successful under those conditions. It was a specific goal but not in any way realistic, attainable, or timely.

I was living in a someday state of mind.

How often do you say "someday, when...?"

When I hit the lottery...
When I'm successful...
When I find Mr. Right...
When we buy a house...
When I get a promotion...
When I make more money...

Why not now?

If not now, then when?

Someday?

Someday never comes.

So who are you right now?

Do you like the person you see in the mirror?

Who you were yesterday isn't necessarily the person you need to be today. Everything can change in a moment. Earlier this month I was a writer who didn't believe in herself and her work. I never felt as though my writing was good enough, perfect enough, for publication thus I've been writing for nearly 40 years and never sent anything worthwhile out for consideration. I have a huge body of work in various stages of completion but why complete something if your never going to do anything with it? I had convinced myself that no one would miss my work if it never made it to the marketplace in the first place. I would never make a difference if I never tried at all.

That's not the person I want to be.

I used to be audacious, unafraid, willing to do the work, and not take the easy way out.

Somewhere along the road to someday, all that changed.

I became afraid of being hurt, cynical, bitter, angry, and didn't like change. I got old.

And I'm too young to be old.

And I didn't even realize I had gotten old.

But all that changed in an instant.

I mustered up enough courage, with the badgering of a friend, I submitted my first substantial piece of writing for publication and got my first acceptance.

I'm still flabbergasted by the acceptance and that was three weeks ago. Someone is willing to publish my writing in their magazine. My writing, my effort, is at least good enough for one editor.

A whole new world of opportunity has opened up for me. New possibilities. My paradigm has shifted, big time. My attitude has changed. My confidence has increased. Joy has returned to my day and many other positive events are taking place in my life.

I realize that it was an external event that triggered the change in me and I should have been able to make the transformation on my own but sometimes we need a life altering event. Mine was something small. Sometimes we need something huge to wake us from our reverie.

I challenge you to make the changes necessary to create the life you want. Don't wait till it's too late.

You've given your life to become the person you are right now. Was it worth it?

And what are you going to do now?

* quote from the book ONE by Richard Bach.
 

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