Deciphering Your Dreams

The title of this post might lead you to believe that I meant this literally, but I did not, because I cannot read your dreams.  Not yet, at least. I mean along the lines of what your goals are and what your dreams of becoming in life are.  Sometimes deciphering your dreams can be a very difficult task in itself, due to the number of thoughts that cross one's mind when they contemplate about what they would legitimately love to do for a living.  As life progresses, I have noticed that I am not a "one-note" person who only is talented at one thing.  The more I continue in my years, I find it very interesting as to how much I have grown mentally as a result of life's experiences which has shaped my dreams.  An example of this is seen when things did not work out for me to be able to play basketball in college; which caused me to have a flood of emotions that made deciphering my already "set" dream very difficult to decipher.  For most of my life, I had dreamed of playing basketball for most of my life in the NBA because of my immense love for the game and the joy that it brought me when playing.  Noticing how some of my peers went on to live that dream while I traveled a different path, frustrated me to no end and clouded my emotions with feeling very "small/inferior" as well as disappointed in myself.  After spending so much of my life dedicated to that sport and the dream that accompanied it, I truly felt hopeless after not playing collegiate basketball because of all the time and energy I had invested in it.  I truly felt that my dream had been shattered at that moment which left me with a helpless and distraught mentality despite me not wanting to admit it to myself.  However, I knew that I had a talent specifically for writing whether it be imaginative or realistically based, which allowed me to pursue other avenues that are writing-related.

I was blessed to be able to know that I have a talent for something other than basketball.  Unfortunately, finding this alternate avenue when your life has been always accompanied by this in-depth relationship with a certain sport, can be extremely difficult and nerve-racking.  However, despite this feeling of apathy that can derive from not playing the sport you love, your growth is not necessarily stifled.  The sport can continue to make its presence known in your life as you strive to obtain other skills and attributes that you didn't know you had.  An example of that is seen with me, as I am currently witnessing the cerebral aspect of basketball; which has helped me to progress in my writing.  As I continue to develop as a work in progress writer, I see how the intricacies of the values that sports omit are laced throughout scholastics.  An example of this is seen in teamwork where it is important that I learn how to work with others, especially if it is in a leadership position where I have to take the helm.  There are a series of other ways in which the sport you love can be correlated to another skill that is not that sport exactly.  By implementing your skills taken from the sport, you most likely will be successful in whatever path you choose due to the applicability that derives from the introspective nature of sports in general.

Do not give in to the lie that all you are in your sport, and that you have no other skill than that because that is the only thing that you might have been exposed to.  You are so much more than that, and like your sport, it takes time and practice to develop those skills for the professional/whatever world you choose.

I know this post might not apply to everyone, considering not everyone has played a sport before.  For those who have not played a sport, I encourage them to take what they can from this and recognize that the main theme is that you are more than just your one skill and that there is so much more potential than you have yet to tap into.  There is always more to improve and develop in, with positive skills you didn't know are there.

Deciphering your dreams can be difficult, but just know that it is never the end of the line when it comes to finding new talents in yourself.