Stop doing and start dreaming, it may seem like a backward concept, but perhaps you’re in the same place I’m in and it’s exactly what you need to do.
Stop Doing and Start Dreaming
I know this sounds backward to most and this may not relate to you but I’m going to choose to believe I’m not alone.
I’ve got to be honest, I am not much of a dreamer. There have been many times in my life that I have looked down upon the dreamers. Not understanding the process and feeling like dreaming was accompanied with being lazy. I’m the kind of person who reads the story of Mary and Martha and is completely irritated at Jesus for not telling Mary to get up and help (side note- I no longer feel like this after some studying, but that is for another time).
Goals are a completely different story. I can set goals with the best of them.
I always have my checklist of 100 things to do and sitting down to dream just isn’t something that makes it to the list. It feels like a waste of time. Sure, I have a great idea here and there, but it’s almost always accompanied with immediately figuring out how I can get from point A to point B and then beating myself up if I don’t achieve it the timeline I set for myself (which 9 times out of 10 completely absurd).
I’d like to blame my Enneagram Type 1 personality. You might as well change my middle name to “perfectionist”. I’m working on that. I’ll always have the drive, but I’ve learned that I can actually plan to fail and it makes it ok because in an odd way I actually achieved the goal.
Here’s the thing though- You can’t have progress without first having the dream. All my lack of taking the time to dream about the future has left me frustrated because I don’t see the progress.
You can't have progress without first having the dream.Click To TweetI have this inner battle within, I know I’ve been created for more, but breaking out of my mold of goals and checklists is so hard. The effect of this has been jealousy creeping in. I see other people doing things that I would love to do, but I’ve been so focused on my list (and the fear of failure), I just focus on the things I know I can succeed at. It’s been a journey.
After much inner thought and struggle (so in case you’re wondering, I hear voices…well, there is a constant dialogue in my head that doesn’t ever stop…I legit thought I was crazy till I found out that Enneagram Type 1’s have a constant dialogue in their heads and it’s completely normal) I’ve realized that it’s time to make myself start dreaming.
It’s hard. I have an almost 4-year-old and am 34 weeks pregnant with our new little girl and I keep seeing all the limitations being a work at home mom can have (especially with little ones), but this is the year I’m going to move away from my checklist obsession and take time to dream a bit more (and then make a checklist of how I’m going to get there 😊).
New Beginnings
When I rebranded as Eat at Our Table, it wasn’t just because I wanted to be more generic, it’s because I wanted to combine food and a place of dialogue. Jesus ate with everyone. The table is where people let down their guard and acquaintances become friends. A community is formed. So this year, I’m going to allow myself to dream about how to get there.
My musings may not be for everyone, feel free to skip to the recipes, but I’ve learned over the past year, through others thoughts and experiences, that I’m not the only one who has trouble dreaming, lives for a checklist, questions faith, and is unsure of the future, and it has been healing. So hopefully, by sharing a little bit beyond the recipes, someone else will feel less alone and will be able to welcome others to Eat at Their Table.
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