NO MORE PINK BUNNY SUITS

I’m fairly certain that you’re not from planet Earth if you haven’t seen the Christmas classic movie, “A CHRISTMAS STORY.” If you haven’t seen it, stop right now, find it, and watch it. It is required to be viewed in my household, regardless of the time of year.

It’s the story of Ralphie, who only wants a particular BB gun for Christmas, while everyone, including Santa Claus, tells him he will shoot his eye out. Through all the battles Ralphie endured, the worst was being forced by his mother to wear the pink bunny-suit pajamas his aunt had given him. A big, pink, bunny suit including pink feet, tail, and big pink ears, all in one incredibly tasteless and dorky suit. He wore it. He didn’t like it. But he wore it. 

I think of Ralphie and his bunny-suit dilemma every time I hear a client or friend say that the only goals that they pursue are those given to them by their employer. Many people spend their entire lives pursuing someone else’s goals and dreams. They do things that they don’t necessarily want to do but do them to satisfy someone other than themselves. Now I’m not saying that’s always wrong, but if that is the extent of someone’s dreams or aspirations, then you will be doomed to a lonely, unfulfilled, and unsatisfying life.

It’s easy to fall into a groove where a life revolves entirely around someone else’s goals. Our entire existence is based on achieving the objectives assigned to us. It’s easy to fall into a survival mindset, one of just getting by every day. It’s easy to be solely focused on hitting the numbers or meeting deadlines our boss sets, with no consideration for our own goals, visions, aspirations, or dreams.

In today’s world, a survival mentality should not be an option. Anything is possible today. Anything that you can dream of or visualize is possible.

 And that is the rub.

The greatest challenge to reaching our unlimited potential isn’t your boss, or your lack of education, or the economy, or how you grew up. Our greatest limitations are usually that we have simply stopped believing in what might be possible, and we let those negative voices in our heads shut down all hope, become lazy, and give up. 

The result of this hopeless mindset is that we’ve forgotten how to dream about our own potential and what would make us happy or happier. We’ve lost our unalienable right to dream. No one can stop us from dreaming. But when we don’t allow ourselves to have a vision for the future, that’s when we become slaves to other people’s dreams. 

Right now, today, this very minute, you need to get out of your life rut and live the life that you were meant to live. Go ahead and tackle the goals you have at work and for the company but step out in faith and live your life with a renewed focus on your own goals, dreams, and vision. 

You deserve that. Your family deserves that. Your potential deserves that. 

Most goal-setting and achievement experts will tell you there are seven key areas to set goals in for a strong, fulfilling life. They include Business, Financial, Personal, Family, Health, Spiritual, and Charitable. If you follow the experience of the ages, you’ll see that only one of the seven is a focus on business. The others are about you and your family, and living a full and exciting life of vision and possibilities. 

Your existence is not about the goals someone else sets for you; it’s about you having your own vision, your own hopes and dreams as well. So, dare to dream and take a shot at what your life can be. Just peel off that pink bunny suit and see if there might be a Superman suit lying around. It just might fit!