I've been thinking a lot about goals and dreams lately. I've decided I want to approach it the way my one-year-old son does when he sees something he wants.
For example, there was a ball sitting in the garden for a long time. Every time he sat in his high chair, he could see it out the window. He would exclaim "Ball! Ball!" with excitement as his little hands grasped for the object so far out of his reach. In spite of him being strapped to a chair, in spite of the window in between him and the ball, in spite of the distance between him and the garden, in spite of the sweltering summer heat preventing me from taking him outside, he always believed that he could get the ball. I doubt it ever occurred to him that it wasn't an option.
One day I decided I'd better take him to the garden and finally let him get the long awaited ball. At first he wasn't sure what we were doing and he toddled around exploring the garden space. And then he looked up and saw it. "BALL!" He moved as fast as those toddler legs could carry him and grabbed the ball, smiling as big as he possibly could. He held it to show me, pure joy radiating from him. "Ball! Ball! Ball!"
As adults, it seems like often once we accomplish something we either immediately go chasing the next thing, or we feel disappointed, thinking it wasn't quite what we imagined. Not so for my son. Getting the ball was every bit as wonderful as he imagined. It didn't matter that the ball was dirty and slightly deflated. He didn't care that there were many toys in the garden that others might find more appealing. No, he had the ball that he'd reached for and dreamed about for weeks, and nothing was going to keep him from that joy.
There's a lot to be said for that. Keep reaching for your dreams, no matter what stands in the way, and grasp your achievements with joy. I know that sounds really cheesy, but that doesn't mean it's not important. :)