Throughout our lives, we come across things that make us think, "That's so awesome, I'd like to do that." But how often do we actually go through with these things? Today, I've decided to explore some of those things we say we're going to do, but often don't. (And no, I don't mean the load of laundry I haven't folded and put away yet. We're pretending that doesn't exist.)
Learn an instrument.
Once upon a time, there was a person who was addicted to music. Said person decided to take the music class offered at the school when around ten years old. They mainly focused on wind instruments, so she ended up with a clarinet. The young student proceeded to never practice, and as a result, had no clue what to do every single music class. She then came away from the class having learnt virtually nothing.
Okay, sometimes kids just don't commit to stuff. Fast forward to when said person was about seventeen or eighteen. One of the high schools she attended had a class for the piano keyboard. However, there was always a class she had to take scheduled for the same period, so it never happened. Later, she decided to get a piano keyboard and a book teaching how to play it. She was so motivated to practice, the keyboard and book sat around in her room, only used a few times.
So now you know the sad story. The tale of how I always say, "Wouldn't it be cool to learn an instrument?" and then don't actually do it. Instead, I just sit around and admire other people's ability.
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| I feel neglected... |
Really, it's an age old story. Lots of people have instruments that they have no idea how to play. Whether they bought it, the instrument once belonged to a friend or family member, or it's a cheap harmonica they got as an arcade prize, they have these objects lying around their houses gathering dust. And so often, they plan to learn, say they're going to sit down and take the time... and then never do.
Learn another language.
Here we go again. "I'm gonna take the time and learn this! Maybe I'll even get a book, take an online course!" And then they never study their lessons, or they don't even get as far as step one—signing up for said class or buying said book/computer program.
Or maybe we ended up in Spanish when we didn't sign up for it. But come on, we've learned a bit so far in our class. See, this means 'please'! (mispronounces 'por favor' so our mother laughs at us) The double rr in Spanish is rolled, producing a sound like (either creates English 'r' or horrible noise resembling a parody of the intended sound).
Hey, we've made progress since then. We now know 'por favor' is not pronounced like the English 'favor'. We still fail at the double rr, but let's not dwell on that. We remembered a few words from when we barely studied, and hey, we got a C- on our test!
One semester has passed, and budget cuts resulted in the end of Spanish class. The kid who's been whinging about being put in the class against his will is thrilled at this news. Your GPA breathes a sigh of relief, because now it won't have your mediocre Spanish grade dragging it down.
And you? A handful of words and some of the spelling/pronunciation rules were learned. Years later, you even remember 10% of it! That's uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho, nueve... what's 'ten' again? Drat, you've totally forgotten. And two words were misspelled, so you had to correct them before publishing this post.
Travel.
"Fly the ocean on a silver plane, see the jungle when it's wet with rain..." Yeah, but first you need to gear up for that road trip or arrange that flight. Plus, you have to take time to do it, and if you have a job, you'll have to get vacation time. And then there's that pesky problem of not being a billionaire.
But let's face it, things like pretty pictures or interesting articles fill us with longing for travel. And these temptations are everywhere. Your aunt visits Ireland and tells you over the phone about how it's foggy and it rained a bit, and she had to buy a sweater. Meanwhile, you're at your house in California with the air conditioner that doesn't work well, and it's about 100°F (38°C) outside. It's not fair, why can't you be somewhere with a nice cool summer?
And then, as if that wasn't enough, someone you follow on social media keeps re-posting images of beautiful landscapes. Finally, you have no choice. You must follow the page they're getting these pictures from. This, of course, causes even more pretty photos to appear on your feed, and you're constantly tortured by places you want to see.
Have a dream house and/or move to faraway dream place.
But why just visit a super-cool place, or envision your dream house, when you can live there? Maybe you can reside in an ancient crumbling castle with dragons nesting beneath it, or a fancy custom-built house with awesome features. And perhaps you'll decide to escape the city life forever by having such dream home in a remote part of northern Canada. Besides, the northern lights are so lovely there.
On the other hand, dream houses are sometimes pricey. Moving to another country can put a strain on one's bank account, too. Besides that, there's all this paperwork and such to fill out, and in some cases, you have to adapt to an entirely different lifestyle. Then there's getting settled in a totally new environment: finding a job, figuring out where stuff is and what restaurants are good to eat at, meeting new people, being far away from family and friends, etc.
And then you balk. Maybe you should wait until you're in a better financial situation, or when the kids are older, or after you retire. Or after you die, and moving to God's Country is mandatory.
Try out new recipes.
There's a recipe for butternut squash soup that my friend's been saying she'll make for a few years now. Still hasn't happened.
And expanding on this. people say they're going to learn to cook. Or maybe they want to make fancy meals, or experiment more with different cuisines. And then at the end of the day, they get the can opener and dump some chili into a bowl, or make the same old spaghetti recipe.
Write a book.
Someday, he said, he'll work on a novel. But not right now. He's got other stuff he's focusing on, and he's busy, etc. Maybe he's got a couple of vague plot ideas. One of these days...
Twenty years go by. "How's that novel going?" you ask. He shrugs sadly, and says he hasn't started it yet.
Many more years pass, and one day you see him in the retirement home, watching TV. You make your way over to him with your walker and sit down on a sofa with a faded floral pattern. "Did you ever write that novel?"
He shakes his head. "No." he says with quavering voice. "But I'm planning to start it soon."
At his funeral, his son comes up to speak. "And the sad thing is," the man says, "he never got to write his novel. He always talked about it."
You get the picture. Some people talk about their writing plans, but never actually buckle down and do it. Whether it's a novel, memoir, or other type of book, it ends up being a distant dream rather than a reality.
Characters: And then there's the ones who will never get their fantasy series done if they keep focusing on blog posts about things people say they're gonna do but don't, or about procrastination of tasks! Speaking of which, when are you planning to research Arthurian legends for world-building?
Um, no comment there. Anyway, on to our next subject...
Exercise more.
But not today. You don't feel like it, and the couch is comfy, and there's a good episode of 'The Waltons' on. Besides, it's hot today, and you're tired after a busy week. Plus, the cat just settled on your lap, and she looks so happy there. And you can always start tomorrow, or next week. Or after a supermoon occurs on the same day as a solar eclipse, meteor shower, and the appearance of Halley's Comet.
And then you beat yourself up. Honestly, we breathe hard just lifting a heavy carton of milk, and look at those love handles! We should get up early and exercise. The alarm goes off for horrible o'clock, and we smash it with our fist like Garfield the cat before returning to sleep. You can jog some other time. Like never, preferably.
Get organized and remove unneeded clutter.
See 'The Messy Sloth' for more details on this. Let's face it, most people have a garage, basement, attic, storage unit, black hole from which no one ever returns, or other cluttered disaster area they fear. We say we'll go through it someday. Then we don't, and more stuff accumulates. Finally, you find yourself needing two houses: one to live in, and one for all your things.
Speaking of which, have you seen the scissors? There's at least five in this house, yet they've all disappeared. I haven't been able to cut things for three weeks! Oh well, guess I'll buy some more. And put them in a safe place, right here on this big mound of useless junk and mystery cords I'll find a use for one day.
Drat. The pile swallowed them up. And the packing tape, too. And the package I was going to tape shut. And the paper I wrote my friend's address on, and all the pens, pencils, and markers in the house. Maybe I'll just go to the store and get a card.
Where's my car keys?
Start your own business.
I'll open a quaint little bookstore, or a bed and breakfast. But not right now. I'd have to quit my current job, which I can't afford right now. Plus, I don't enough time to start and manage a business. And I've got the kids to look after, and I don't even know where I'd find a place to set up my bookshop/B&B/whatever.
Inevitably, the concept of starting your own business sometimes ends up being a pipe dream, a thought of, "If only..." Maybe it wouldn't have worked out, or maybe we just never jump at the chance when we have it. But let's face it, having your own business would be cool. And you could design it how you want, hire who you want (Goodbye, Bob from accounting who used too much body spray, and who always took the last of the coffee and didn't make a new pot).
Maybe someday...
Go back to school.
But then there's student loans, and loads of homework and studying. Besides, you're too busy to be taking classes right now. You can do it later. Like, way later.
On the other hand, how will we ever make progress if we wait until Doomsday to do it? We ought to start now. Lots of other people manage classes while working jobs, raising kids, and other things. Ha ha, but who are you kidding? Those are super-humans, and you're a mere mortal. But you're talking yourself out of it. You're in a dead-end job, and you've always aspired to (insert career of choice that requires a degree).
Then again, what if we do go back to school, only to fail? You hear horror stories of how hard college can be, of the difficult courses, impossible tests, and mountain of homework. All provided by an unforgiving professor who eats bombed quizzes and drinks the tears of doomed students.
Yeah, we'll decide on it later. Maybe when we're not so busy/less stressed/didn't have time to talk ourselves out of it/etc.
So there you have it. Some of the most popular hopes and dreams of man to never achieve. Note that the more specific, personal-sounding examples are all completely fictional, and in no way represent my or anyone else's actual failures. 'No habla Español', that's Spanish. See, I'm totally fluent.
But let's face it, things like pretty pictures or interesting articles fill us with longing for travel. And these temptations are everywhere. Your aunt visits Ireland and tells you over the phone about how it's foggy and it rained a bit, and she had to buy a sweater. Meanwhile, you're at your house in California with the air conditioner that doesn't work well, and it's about 100°F (38°C) outside. It's not fair, why can't you be somewhere with a nice cool summer?
And then, as if that wasn't enough, someone you follow on social media keeps re-posting images of beautiful landscapes. Finally, you have no choice. You must follow the page they're getting these pictures from. This, of course, causes even more pretty photos to appear on your feed, and you're constantly tortured by places you want to see.
Have a dream house and/or move to faraway dream place.
But why just visit a super-cool place, or envision your dream house, when you can live there? Maybe you can reside in an ancient crumbling castle with dragons nesting beneath it, or a fancy custom-built house with awesome features. And perhaps you'll decide to escape the city life forever by having such dream home in a remote part of northern Canada. Besides, the northern lights are so lovely there.
 |
| A real-life hobbit home. |
On the other hand, dream houses are sometimes pricey. Moving to another country can put a strain on one's bank account, too. Besides that, there's all this paperwork and such to fill out, and in some cases, you have to adapt to an entirely different lifestyle. Then there's getting settled in a totally new environment: finding a job, figuring out where stuff is and what restaurants are good to eat at, meeting new people, being far away from family and friends, etc.
And then you balk. Maybe you should wait until you're in a better financial situation, or when the kids are older, or after you retire. Or after you die, and moving to God's Country is mandatory.
Try out new recipes.
There's a recipe for butternut squash soup that my friend's been saying she'll make for a few years now. Still hasn't happened.
And expanding on this. people say they're going to learn to cook. Or maybe they want to make fancy meals, or experiment more with different cuisines. And then at the end of the day, they get the can opener and dump some chili into a bowl, or make the same old spaghetti recipe.
Write a book.
Someday, he said, he'll work on a novel. But not right now. He's got other stuff he's focusing on, and he's busy, etc. Maybe he's got a couple of vague plot ideas. One of these days...
Twenty years go by. "How's that novel going?" you ask. He shrugs sadly, and says he hasn't started it yet.
Many more years pass, and one day you see him in the retirement home, watching TV. You make your way over to him with your walker and sit down on a sofa with a faded floral pattern. "Did you ever write that novel?"
He shakes his head. "No." he says with quavering voice. "But I'm planning to start it soon."
At his funeral, his son comes up to speak. "And the sad thing is," the man says, "he never got to write his novel. He always talked about it."
You get the picture. Some people talk about their writing plans, but never actually buckle down and do it. Whether it's a novel, memoir, or other type of book, it ends up being a distant dream rather than a reality.
Characters: And then there's the ones who will never get their fantasy series done if they keep focusing on blog posts about things people say they're gonna do but don't, or about procrastination of tasks! Speaking of which, when are you planning to research Arthurian legends for world-building?
Um, no comment there. Anyway, on to our next subject...
Exercise more.
But not today. You don't feel like it, and the couch is comfy, and there's a good episode of 'The Waltons' on. Besides, it's hot today, and you're tired after a busy week. Plus, the cat just settled on your lap, and she looks so happy there. And you can always start tomorrow, or next week. Or after a supermoon occurs on the same day as a solar eclipse, meteor shower, and the appearance of Halley's Comet.
And then you beat yourself up. Honestly, we breathe hard just lifting a heavy carton of milk, and look at those love handles! We should get up early and exercise. The alarm goes off for horrible o'clock, and we smash it with our fist like Garfield the cat before returning to sleep. You can jog some other time. Like never, preferably.
Get organized and remove unneeded clutter.
See 'The Messy Sloth' for more details on this. Let's face it, most people have a garage, basement, attic, storage unit, black hole from which no one ever returns, or other cluttered disaster area they fear. We say we'll go through it someday. Then we don't, and more stuff accumulates. Finally, you find yourself needing two houses: one to live in, and one for all your things.
Speaking of which, have you seen the scissors? There's at least five in this house, yet they've all disappeared. I haven't been able to cut things for three weeks! Oh well, guess I'll buy some more. And put them in a safe place, right here on this big mound of useless junk and mystery cords I'll find a use for one day.
Drat. The pile swallowed them up. And the packing tape, too. And the package I was going to tape shut. And the paper I wrote my friend's address on, and all the pens, pencils, and markers in the house. Maybe I'll just go to the store and get a card.
Where's my car keys?
Start your own business.
I'll open a quaint little bookstore, or a bed and breakfast. But not right now. I'd have to quit my current job, which I can't afford right now. Plus, I don't enough time to start and manage a business. And I've got the kids to look after, and I don't even know where I'd find a place to set up my bookshop/B&B/whatever.
Inevitably, the concept of starting your own business sometimes ends up being a pipe dream, a thought of, "If only..." Maybe it wouldn't have worked out, or maybe we just never jump at the chance when we have it. But let's face it, having your own business would be cool. And you could design it how you want, hire who you want (Goodbye, Bob from accounting who used too much body spray, and who always took the last of the coffee and didn't make a new pot).
Maybe someday...
Go back to school.
But then there's student loans, and loads of homework and studying. Besides, you're too busy to be taking classes right now. You can do it later. Like, way later.
On the other hand, how will we ever make progress if we wait until Doomsday to do it? We ought to start now. Lots of other people manage classes while working jobs, raising kids, and other things. Ha ha, but who are you kidding? Those are super-humans, and you're a mere mortal. But you're talking yourself out of it. You're in a dead-end job, and you've always aspired to (insert career of choice that requires a degree).
Then again, what if we do go back to school, only to fail? You hear horror stories of how hard college can be, of the difficult courses, impossible tests, and mountain of homework. All provided by an unforgiving professor who eats bombed quizzes and drinks the tears of doomed students.
 |
| 'For Better or For Worse' comic strip by Lynn Johnston |
Yeah, we'll decide on it later. Maybe when we're not so busy/less stressed/didn't have time to talk ourselves out of it/etc.
So there you have it. Some of the most popular hopes and dreams of man to never achieve. Note that the more specific, personal-sounding examples are all completely fictional, and in no way represent my or anyone else's actual failures. 'No habla Español', that's Spanish. See, I'm totally fluent.
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