Focus: Chasing your dreams

To become an artist, maybe an astronaut or just having the perfect family life — our dreams are as varied as we are, reflecting our hopes, aspirations and capabilities. But while there are a few who fearlessly chase these dreams, many of us just end up leaving them unfulfilled — living a life bemoaning what we could have been. What is it that stops so many of us from realising our true potential? Is it fear of failure that keeps us from pursuing our aspirations? Or is the world just so structured that a person’s dreams are scoffed at and stifled even before they take complete shape and form? Post your thoughts on our Facebook page ‘Gulf News Al Nisr Publishing UAE’ or tell us at readers@gulfnews.com

12:04 Joanne Okiko Shigeko Kelly: I would imagine. For most people, especially as the years go by, fear plays at least some role in whether or not we take big chances and “chase” dreams. Perhaps an even bigger factor is comfort and our innate inclination to stick to something that is safe and stable.

12:10 Maheen Abbas: It is not about being scared, but yes, I believe most people are sluggish and too lazy to chase their dreams. You could call it ‘being scared’ as it does hinder them. But it doesn’t mean that they have stopped dreaming.

12:10 Masooma Abidi: I do not agree as some people may have fear, pressure of something or they might be tense about something!

12:14 Shereen Mir: Well, it’s not that we are scared. It is just that many a time we are not sure if the choice is right or wrong!

12:17 Joanne Okiko Shigeko Kelly: The world can only discourage you so much. You are in control of your feelings. You can’t control all variables immediately, but you can control your internal monologue and not get discouraged.

12:20 Shereen Mir: I remember a quote, “Do what you feel right, because the world neither encourages if you are right nor discourages if you are wrong!”

12:20 Fadhel Khoury: Pardon me, but I believe that it is not the world that discourages people, but it is the person that discourages himself.

12:22 Maheen Abbas: You are right, Fadhel. The more we avoid discouraging ourselves the more determined we are. Whether the world is structured or disorganised, it cannot stop you!

12:22 Shereen Mir: That may be true but most of the time the person gets discouraged to a huge extent just because the people around him do not support him.

12:23 Fadhel Khoury: People or the world may talk whatever they like about your dreams — that they are unrealistic and are hard to achieve. But in the end it is we that must decide and be encouraged to achieve the unachievable.

12:23 Joanne Okiko Shigeko Kelly: That’s true, Shereen, if you don’t have a support system, it’s really tough to do anything extreme.

12:24 Maheen Abbas: You should look for the support within you! If you struggle, you can conquer. As Shereen said, people keep talking, not being happy or encouraging you with what you do, even if you are right! So, you should not stop from fulfilling your dreams.

12:24 Fadhel Khoury: Well, I took my first walk across the seven emirates (350km long) in March 2011. Many people discouraged me and said it was a waste of time and effort. But in the end I was able to achieve it. When I told them that I will be walking across the seven emirates and back, this time covering 700kms in June, they again told me that it is not possible and tried to stop me from it, but still I achieved it. In life there are those that pull us down from what we want to achieve, but still there are those who encourage us to go on. They may be few, compared to the majority, but they are still there to support us.

12:29 Joanne Okiko Shigeko Kelly: Yeah, if you are going to achieve something, you rarely consider failure. You do it because you’re driven by more than just about being successful — it’s a calling, it’s about soul-searching. It’s not something you just write on your CV.

12:31 Fadhel Khoury: I think that there are no circumstance other than those a person makes for him or herself, even if we think that the road is blocked there is always another route that we can take.

12:31 Maheen Abbas: A person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn, feel, change, grow, live or love. Because, in my opinion, one should at least try. If you try, you risk failure. But if you don’t try then you are simply ensuring it.

12:31 Fadhel Khoury: I think success is not the main point of following a dream, it’s rather the joy of trying to achieve the dream itself. I never want to ask myself, “Why didn’t I do that?”

12:31 Masooma Abidi: Whichever dream you have, you must try and achieve it instead of letting it demoralise you.

12:32 Joanne Okiko Shigeko Kelly: So true! It is about the path, not the destination, right? We live, we grow, we continue, without regrets.

12:34 Joanne Okiko Shigeko Kelly: Oh, that’s such a sad possibility, to grow up to be an unimaginative adult. I think some parents desire control over their kids, and yes, they often do kill dreams, consciously or not. I suppose it depends on how much you value your parents’ opinion.

12:36 Shereen Mir: As a teen, I would say that my parents never forced me to choose the commerce stream in my school, in spite of the fact that they wanted me to learn medicine. They have given me the freedom to dream what I want. And yes, they support me in my choices, too.

12:36 Fadhel Khoury: I believe that a parent’s role is crucial for the child to achieve his potential. Parents should not stop the child from growing, thinking or dreaming, there is nothing wrong with that. What is wrong is when the parents force their children to do things they are not interested in. That in my eyes is a real waste of talent.

12:38 Joanne Okiko Shigeko Kelly: If you really want it, figure out what it takes to get it, and just go for gold. So long as you don’t hurt anyone along the way, at least you can say you tried, right? You’ll never regret it - at least!

12:39 Fadhel Khoury: It is not only the responsibility of a parent, it is the responsibility of each and every one of us to make a difference to other people’s lives. I wish that my walk will inspire more people to just park their cars at home, go out, look, listen, smell and feel the environment we live in. Let us all become the source of inspiration for the current and future generations.

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It is all about the money, it is true! But it does get frustrating when you don’t pursue your dreams, but even people around you make it harder to take the road less travelled.”
Noor Khoury
Dubai

Nowadays, it is just about earning money and living a particular lifestyle, so people don’t have time to pursue their dreams. The car that you are driving, the mobile phone you are holding, that is what is important now.”
Maysoun Ramadan
Dubai

For some people when they achieve a certain goal and the dream disappears, it can be a little disappointing in its own way. So, I guess having dreams keep things alive for them, achieving them may be a secondary goal.”
Ron Villejo
Dubai