Big Dreams
"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it."
-- Michelangelo
Didn't we all have big dreams as little kids? What happened to those dreams? I mean, my dreams of being a professional athlete didn't exactly pan out. I don't mean so much what happened to those dreams, but do we have similar dreams now? Do we still have dreams? I know I do, but my dreams aren't the same. I hope we all have the dreams that really matter like an eternal family, eternal life, etc. This post is about those dreams and other dreams that we should have just for this life. They can be dreams that may not seem important to other people (I really want a truck one day) and they can be dreams that seem significant to everyone (I'd love to have enough money that I can share more with others).
The bottom line is that we are in charge of our dreams. I feel like we often dream too small, we live beneath our privileges, and we underestimate what we're capable of. We can do so much, but we hold ourselves back. If your goal to is to get a better job, to get a degree, to help others more, to be in better shape, to learn to cook, really anything, what is holding you back? You. We don't always have the means right now to accomplish these goals, but that doesn't mean that it is impossible. Sometimes there are steps that we need to take before we can begin to work toward our dreams, but isn't that just part of the process?
Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said,
"In the grand division of all of God’s creations, there are things to act and things to be acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:13–14). As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we have been blessed with the gift of moral agency, the capacity for independent action and choice. Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon. To believe that someone or something can make us feel offended, angry, hurt, or bitter diminishes our moral agency and transforms us into objects to be acted upon. As agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond to an offensive or hurtful situation."
We are meant to act.
The Apostle Paul said in his epistle to the Philippians "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." He understood this concept and it applies to all of us. We can do all things through Christ.
We watch movies and read books all the time of people who accomplished great things. Many of them began just like us, so what is stopping us? We can accomplish great things. I find that I often falter on my dreams when I face setbacks, but setbacks are a part of every dream or goal. We need to learn that when we fall down, we must get back up, we can't give up, we must take hold of our dreams, and never let anyone take them away from us.
Sometimes our dreams aren't in the cards, they aren't supposed to come true, but when we work with God, everything always turns out better in the end than we planned. Sometimes we don't quite accomplish our goals and fulfill our dreams, but if we set them high enough, we always end up better than we started. Lastly, as I mentioned before, we need to remember that the most important dreams, the only ones that really matter, are our eternal dreams.
So, I invite you to join me in beginning to dream big again.
-- Michelangelo
Didn't we all have big dreams as little kids? What happened to those dreams? I mean, my dreams of being a professional athlete didn't exactly pan out. I don't mean so much what happened to those dreams, but do we have similar dreams now? Do we still have dreams? I know I do, but my dreams aren't the same. I hope we all have the dreams that really matter like an eternal family, eternal life, etc. This post is about those dreams and other dreams that we should have just for this life. They can be dreams that may not seem important to other people (I really want a truck one day) and they can be dreams that seem significant to everyone (I'd love to have enough money that I can share more with others).
The bottom line is that we are in charge of our dreams. I feel like we often dream too small, we live beneath our privileges, and we underestimate what we're capable of. We can do so much, but we hold ourselves back. If your goal to is to get a better job, to get a degree, to help others more, to be in better shape, to learn to cook, really anything, what is holding you back? You. We don't always have the means right now to accomplish these goals, but that doesn't mean that it is impossible. Sometimes there are steps that we need to take before we can begin to work toward our dreams, but isn't that just part of the process?Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said,
"In the grand division of all of God’s creations, there are things to act and things to be acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:13–14). As sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father, we have been blessed with the gift of moral agency, the capacity for independent action and choice. Endowed with agency, you and I are agents, and we primarily are to act and not just be acted upon. To believe that someone or something can make us feel offended, angry, hurt, or bitter diminishes our moral agency and transforms us into objects to be acted upon. As agents, however, you and I have the power to act and to choose how we will respond to an offensive or hurtful situation."
We are meant to act.
The Apostle Paul said in his epistle to the Philippians "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." He understood this concept and it applies to all of us. We can do all things through Christ.
We watch movies and read books all the time of people who accomplished great things. Many of them began just like us, so what is stopping us? We can accomplish great things. I find that I often falter on my dreams when I face setbacks, but setbacks are a part of every dream or goal. We need to learn that when we fall down, we must get back up, we can't give up, we must take hold of our dreams, and never let anyone take them away from us.
So, I invite you to join me in beginning to dream big again.
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