Chasing a Dream: Why it Feels Like Flying

What's it really like to pursue a passion or chase a big dream?

When someone asks me what it's like to pursue a passion or chase a dream, I just smile and say, "It feels like flying..."

Some people would think that means it's exhilarating; and yes, that's definitely true. But there's another meaning, especially for those who have a fear of flying.

I've flown in airplanes since I was nine, but it seems that the more I fly, the more it bothers me. I actually deal with an increasing fear of flying every time I step onto a plane.

Now, before you send me a litany of remedies for aviophobia, I want to clarify something:

The anxiety I experience isn't so bad that it keeps me from doing it; it's just that I'm all too consciously aware of the fact that it's only air supporting that massive chunk of metal... with me inside. I regularly have to talk myself out of feeling fear and choose to be at peace.

The same is true for me with goal achievement, or chasing a dream.

Let me explain...

I recently set a big goal that's going to stretch me out of my comfort zone in a significant way. After setting the goal, a strange feeling came over me, and it took me some time to identify where I had experienced that feeling before.

Then I remembered.

The feeling was absolutely identical to how I feel when I step onto an airplane.

In both cases, it's nervousness, combined with the thought that natural laws are about to be employed to accomplish something that seems physically impossible.

This connection between flying and goal setting helped me remember to not let the fear stop me. In both cases, I can rely on natural laws that defy the gravitational pull that otherwise keeps me grounded. I've learned to get on the plane in spite of fear, so I can also talk myself through the fear that comes with striving for a big goal.

After all, if your goal doesn't cause you some internal discomfort when you think about it, then you're probably not setting a big enough goal.

As I've heard it said many times:

"Make no small plans, for they have not the power to stir men's souls." - Niccolò Machiavelli, 16th century

Never take a dream-chasing journey alone. Set a BIG goal, and then reach out to someone you respect to help you overcoming the internal (and external) opposition that threatens to stop you.

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