Posted in Becoming Kara
Maybe the Picture is Too Old
Have you ever looked at something you’ve wanted for years and suddenly wondered:
Do I still want this?
Not Can I have it?
Not Is it too late?
But…
Do I actually still want it?
That’s a very different question.
Because sometimes the problem isn’t that we’ve given up on our dreams.
Sometimes the picture we’re chasing is simply too old.
We Change. Our Dreams Should Be Allowed to Change Too.
Think about all the versions of you who have existed over the years.
The twenty-year-old you wanted certain things.
The thirty-year-old you had different priorities.
At forty, life may have looked completely different than you expected.
And by fifty, sixty, seventy and beyond, you’ve accumulated something those earlier versions of you didn’t have:
experience.
You’ve learned what makes you happy.
You’ve discovered what doesn’t.
You’ve met people, lost people, changed your mind, surprised yourself and lived enough life to know that some things aren’t nearly as important as you once thought.
So why would we expect the picture of our ideal future to remain exactly the same?
Sometimes We Keep Chasing an Old Picture
We hear a lot about not giving up on our dreams.
And I agree.
But I think there’s another possibility we don’t talk about enough:
Maybe you’re allowed to change the dream.
Maybe the house you’ve imagined for twenty years isn’t the house you’d choose today.
Maybe the career goal that once felt so important doesn’t excite you anymore.
Maybe your definition of success has changed.
Maybe the place you once dreamed of living no longer feels like home.
Maybe what once looked like an exciting life now looks exhausting.
That doesn’t mean you failed.
It might simply mean you’ve changed.
Is It Your Dream—or Your Former Self’s?
This is where things get interesting.
Sometimes we’ve carried an idea for so long that it becomes part of our identity.
I’ve always wanted to…
Someday I’m going to…
My dream has always been…
After repeating something for twenty years, it can feel almost disloyal to question it.
But the person who originally chose that dream didn’t know everything you know today.
She hadn’t lived the years you’ve lived since then.
She couldn’t have known exactly who you would become.
Maybe she gave you a direction.
She didn’t have to give you the final destination.
Update the Picture
This is one of the reasons I love the idea of creating Future Memories.
Instead of automatically pulling out an old picture of what my future is supposed to look like, I can create a new one.
I can ask:
If I were choosing today, what would I picture?
Not ten years ago.
Not when the kids were little.
Not when I was building a career.
Not when I thought I knew exactly how my life was supposed to unfold.
Today.
What would I choose now?
That question can be surprisingly freeing.
Because you don’t have to keep trying to become someone your younger self imagined.
You get to introduce her to the person you’ve become.
Maybe Your Vision Board Needs an Update
This is also why I think our visions of the future should be living things.
We shouldn’t create a picture once and then spend the rest of our lives trying to force ourselves into it.
Take another look.
Does that picture still make you feel something?
Can you imagine yourself there?
Do you want to move toward it?
Or are you pursuing it simply because you’ve been pursuing it for so long?
Sometimes we don’t need more motivation.
We need a new picture.
Try This
Think of something you’ve wanted for a long time.
Now forget for a moment how much time you’ve already invested in wanting it.
Ask yourself:
If I discovered this possibility for the very first time today, would I still choose it?
If the answer is yes — wonderful.
Keep going.
But if there’s hesitation…
get curious.
What would you choose instead?
What would the person you are today put in that picture?
Where would she go?
What would she do?
What would her days feel like?
What would make her excited about what’s coming next?
Then create that picture.
Not because you’re giving up on your old dream.
Because you’re giving your future permission to change with you.
Maybe It’s Time for a New Picture
Your future doesn’t have to be based on an image created by an earlier version of you.
Create a new one.
✨ Make your first Future Memory FREE at:
The KARA Effect
See it. Remember it. Become it.