Think back to a time years ago when someone asked you “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

How did you respond?

If someone asked me that question back in the day, my response was always “I want to be an archaeologist!”

The first time I saw Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark I was around the age of nine or ten.  For a few years after that, my life was all about archaeology.

The ideas portrayed in that film cast a compelling vision.  Discovering ancient treasure, fighting bad guys, and dreaming of adventures from an exciting storyline all proved to be fertile ground for rich imaginative experiences.+

While searching for artifacts with a metal detector in the woods, opening hollow rocks with a small hammer to discover their contents, or reading Archaeology magazine cover to cover, my main purpose was lived out in anticipation of a future spent gallivanting amongst the remnants of antiquity.

There were even the concrete remains of an old starch factory near my home which I explored (fedora in hand) too many times to count.

However, those visions of heroism began to fade as I learned that archaeology was often less about adventure and buried treasure, and more about exhausting digs in the hot sun.  Nothing against hot digs.  They’re just not my jam.

As time goes by, our future ambitions can become clouded by reality.  We start to lose interest or get distracted, especially when we learn what our dream job’s day to day tasks truly entail.

There are other reasons too.  Unexpected life responsibilities can arise, health issues might intervene, or maybe something even better appears on the horizon.

Now, what happens when an original dream lingers on?  Say a set of circumstances brings the realization that a long forgotten goal is in fact more alive than ever.  It’s was just on the backburner of your subconscious.

Maybe that describes you.  Maybe you’re in a place where you feel like once again pursuing a dream of yesteryear.

But you might hesitate and think to yourself “It’s just too late.”

Don’t fret.  I have good news.

With the right perspective and approach it’s likely not too late.  In fact, it’s probably the opposite.

If you consider all the knowledge, skills, and experience acquired through a life well-lived, a delayed goal strategy might be the perfect approach.

Let’s talk about why.

• Goal Ownership

In writing, my first post draft is typically very “surface-level”.  The topic based on daily musings, recent conversations, old memories or random thoughts.  That initial perspective may have been heavily influenced by something I’d just heard.

It needs to be edited many, many times to sort out the real thoughts on the topic.  After a few passes it starts to feel like it’s really coming from the heart, is authentic, and reflective of my true beliefs.

Goal-setting is similar.

When we select a goal early on in life, it’s commonly influenced by other people’s agenda.  It too might be surface-level and in reality, may not even be really “ours”.  The idea could’ve come to us from a persuasive book, TV show or movie (like my archeology goal).  Perhaps parents or other family members pushed us towards it.

If a goal has stayed with us throughout the course of our life, experiences, and a broadened perspective it has stood the test of time.  In a sense, it’s been edited.  That’s a good indication that it’s really our own goal, and not someone else’s.

• Self-awareness

Increased self-awareness comes with age.  Once we’ve lived through many rich experiences there’s a better understanding of our strengths and weaknesses and how they can be best applied or compensated for, respectively.

This self-awareness leads to more effective actions while in the pursuit of a consciously-chosen goal.

• Solidified Values

These same life experiences help us to clearly define our values – what we’re willing to do, and what we’re not.  We have a better understanding of where we will draw the line, what we’ll tolerate, and what things will cause us to walk.

This brings a level of accuracy to one’s strategizing that’s often not available early on in life.

• Self-control

Consider the world of celebrities.  A lot of individuals who achieve fame early on just can’t handle it.  They get into drugs, bad relationships, and have breakdowns.  This is indicative of a lack self-control.

If fame is achieved later in life it’s typically handled more gracefully.  The seasoned star has had time to mature.  There’s greater self-control

An added benefit is that problems have often already arisen on a smaller scale prior to that fame.  Consequently, there’s better judgement about how to solve them when the spotlight is on.

• Worldly Wisdom

We could look at this from many perspectives.  For our purposes here, we’ll consider who we’re willing to spend our time with.

Certain people are worth their salt (the loyal, kind, and honorable ones), and certain people aren’t.  The one’s who aren’t can demotivate us, which makes it tougher to achieve and grow.

I do my best to only spend time with the former, these days.  Decisions like this are influenced by experienced worldly wisdom.  Once we’ve been burned a few times, the rose colored glasses come of and we can see more clearly.

• Sense of urgency

Having less time that we used to fosters an attitude of urgency.  If embraced, that urgency can inspire one to look more ardently for ways to shorten lag time, find leverage points, recruit assistance, work smarter, and quickly surmount obstacles which may have previously caused us to dawdle.

I recently learned about Parkinson’s Law, a tool to consider that’s extremely relevant here.

• Self-discipline

Hand in hand with a sense of urgency comes greater self-discipline.  We know that we have a big task in front of us.  We’re passionate about it. There’s no time to waste.

Due to these reasons, we’re more apt to live, eat, and breathe the implantation of our strategy and pursuit of our goal.

With all these positive factors in mind, maybe now is the perfect time to pursue that goal you’ve been dreaming of.

What are some goals you have?

What skillsets do you have now that you may not have had ten, twenty, or thirty years ago?

Photo Credit:
Maksym Yemelyanov © 123RF.com
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