During 2017 and 2018, I have watched as friends and acquaintances on social media have worked to make their dreams their realities. Whether that dream was a career as a successful photographer, or as a blogger, or even as a successful Mary Kay saleswoman, these individuals have stopped dreaming and started acting. Meanwhile, I have continued to have the dream to be a published (and paid) writer. The problem is, I haven’t been writing–at least not consistently. Every now and again, an idea pops into my head and I open up my Evernote app on my phone or iPad to jot it down, but I never end up writing the piece. The reality is that unless I start writing consistently and put myself out there, I will never achieve my goal. I’ve never been one to set New Year’s resolutions for myself, and on the rare occasion that I have, I haven’t ever followed through with them.

This year is going to be different.

“Achievement comes when you decide to live your possibilities.” I am deciding that I will, after ten years of “wanting to,” begin to actively pursue my dream. I’m well aware of many of the challenges I am going to face as I embark on this journey, and I’m certain I will encounter unforeseen bumps in the road along the way. I’ve researched and read and thought a lot about what I need to do in order to achieve my goals. Now is the time I need to stop preparing, and just start doing. Whether or not I will earn a paycheck for a piece of my writing this year, I don’t know. However, I’m going to do my best to at least try. If all I receive in the mail is a stack of rejection letters, I will consider that a success, because at least I will have finally taken the first step.

Do you have a goal that you haven’t begun pursuing? Or have you begun? What was the outcome?