The older I get, the more I realize that I don't understand people and their choices.   

 

As a child, everything seemed clear-cut, and everyone tended to fit nicely into my little boxes, behaving just as expected. In fact, I would say this pretty much held true even through college and into the early part of my independent adult life. 

 

Eventually, though, I started to notice people in my circle of friends and acquaintances behaving in a surprising way.  Maybe I'd learn that someone I thought I knew well was dealing with addiction of some sort.  Or a couple who seemed happy to everyone on the outside would suddenly be divorced. It might be that a family member behaved in a mean-spirited or hateful way when discussing a political issue. 

 

I came to realize that people —even people we love or care about — are just incredibly hard to predict or truly understand. 

 

But one of the biggest things I've come to realize is just how many people reach a point in adulthood where they settle for the status quo, no longer dreaming or planning for more.  And I believe that has been the hardest thing for me to wrap my mind around. 

 

 As kids, we all have big dreams.  When you were asked what you  wanted to be when you grew up, your answer was probably something  like astronaut, movie star, NFL pro, famous author, etc.  

 

 As you got older, and realized that particular dream likely wasn't  going to be your scenario, what happened?

 

 I'm sure at some point you got "realistic" about things, and that's ok—  in fact, it's actually necessary to be realistic.

 

You know that saying, If you believe it, you can achieve it?  

 

Um, no. No matter how fervently I believe that I'm going to be the next American Idol, it's not going to happen.  

 

Even the ever-optimistic Zig Ziglar knew that two words needed to be added to the end of that phrase to make it plausible: within reason.  

 

But just because you need to be somewhat reasonable about what you can accomplish, doesn't mean you need to stop dreaming, planning, and working to be, do, and have just a little bit more in life!

 

Try this experiment with me:  I want you to raise your hand as high as you can.  Did you do it?  Good.  Now raise it just a little higher.

 

Why didn't you raise it that high the first time??!! 

 

The metaphor here is that we're training ourselves that we can do only so much, when the truth is we all could do at least a little bit more!  It's just that we no longer seem to believe that truth.  We're like a bunch of fleas in a jar.

 

Check out this quick video from Mr. Zig Ziglar himself:

 

 

Does this resonate with you at all? Have you settled?  Have you believed limiting things about yourself, and just gone on with life?  

 

I know, it's easy to think, "Well, my life isn't phenomenal, but it's not that bad.  Why shouldn't I just be happy with the way things are?  They're fine!"

 

Yes, they are fine.  But how much MORE fine would things be if you would lift your hand just.. a... little.. higher?! 

 

Friends, it's time to start dreaming again.  It's true: If you can dream it you can achieve it -- within reason.  

 

You're not a flea in a jar. 

 

But the first person who has to believe that is the person reading these words right now.