The “Doers and Dreamers’ Travel Guide” is designed to promote tourism. Are you a doer looking for activities? Or a dreamer looking for romantic beach sunsets? No matter which; you can fulfill your wishes here!
Wherever there are people, there are doers and there are dreamers. Action-driven doers forge ahead with activities while big-picture dreamers envision possibilities the rest of us couldn’t even imagine. Working together on a team with a shared goal, doers and dreamers can make a powerful and effective combination.
However, we can’t always depend on having a team to fill in our missing pieces. We need to work with the resources we have, and sometimes that’s just us. What happens when we lack balance? Let’s look at a dreamer.
“I’d love to be a brain surgeon,” sighs Emma. In her mind’s eye, she’s in the operating theatre. Doctors, nurses, spectators in the gallery all sit in silent awe of her expertise. She gives presentations at important conferences, saving the world—one child’s brain at a time. The audience hangs on every syllable. She’s brilliant, admired, and adored. Sweet dreams.
However, an ongoing source of dissatisfaction for Emma is that her friends and family don’t support her dream. “Why can’t they just believe in me?”
The snag is that Emma hasn’t made any headway on her brain surgery goal. She hasn’t even looked into what’s required to get started. Why not?
Ugh. There’s a lot of work involved. And even after you invest the work, money, and time, there’s no guarantee of brilliance and admiration. What if she turns out to be only a mediocre brain surgeon? What if, heaven forbid, she doesn’t succeed at all? Then where would her dream be?
Frankly, it would be right where it is now. The only practical difference is that now, Emma is comforted by her fantasy, whereas if she explored her fantasy more fully, she may be discomforted by the reality.
Which is more effective for Emma?
So often, it really does come down to what you want. It’s possible that Emma gets such satisfaction from her dream that she doesn’t want to sully it by exploring the reality.
If Emma wants to live with a fantasy, it is not for me to say that she should not do so. It is her life, and as long as she is not inflicting distress on someone else, then what she does is her choice.
However, if Emma is genuine in her wish to do something of purpose, then is it helpful to keep this fantasy unexamined?
If she examines it, she might learn that she has no realistic chance of being a brain surgeon. However, she almost certainly has a chance of doing something toward her goal, which was, after all, to help sick children.
A dream with no action remains just a dream, and perhaps the dream is enough to satisfy you. However, if you are dissatisfied, try evaluating whether you are taking the actions that need to go along with your dream to turn it into reality.
Do you see yourself as a doer? A dreamer? A happy, satisfied balance of both?
