“I don’t like belonging to another person’s dream”
– Alice, Through The Looking Glass
Life can put us on a treadmill that moves pretty fast. Before we know it, we’re running towards something we may not even want, or be chasing things that don’t feel fulfilling.
At 35, I realised I’d spent a significant part of my life pursuing a career that I’d suddenly lost interest in. I’d done what people told me I was meant to. I finished school, I went to University, I applied for jobs straight after graduating and since then I’ve been working my way up the corporate ladder to senior positions and positions of greater responsibility. By all external career metrics, I had made a success of myself.
But what about my own, internal metrics? Satisfaction, fulfillment, sense of contributing to something, ability to give back more than I take?
It’s only when I stop and think about it, I realise how little thought I’ve put into my career path. I’ve allowed myself to be buffeted along by life’s treadmill. Living someone else’s dream.
And this can happen in so many aspects of life, especially when we very rarely get the chance to pause and take stock of our situation. To breathe and think about what we want and what we’re trying to achieve.
For me, this is where journaling has been indespensible. It forces me to take the time to stop and reflect and think about all aspects of my life. To decide who I want to be and how I want to show up each and every day. I may not be off the treadmill, but I’ve certainly slowed it down and taken back some decision-making power.
So today’s prompt is:
Where are you living somebody else’s dream?
How would it look if you started living your own?
Happy journaling!
Dave Bawden is the founder of This Journaling Journey, where he helps people (especially men) use journaling to rewrite their personal myths, reconnect with meaning, and define success on their own terms. He writes at the intersection of self-authorship, narrative identity, and everyday philosophy.
