Changing the World and Window Seats.

Something that I believe may be uniquely of my own creation is the idea of major and minor life goals. About a month ago, I was talking with my brother as he was questioning what his future might be. He was talking about the possibility of remodeling a house (probably something that would take a fairly long time to be move-in ready). Windows, knocking down walls, and creating a really awesome bathroom were the most important parts he was mentioning. But I kept on talking about the little things. If you make those rooms into a large space, you could get the most awesome sectional couch. If you remodel the kitchen, you could get one of those fancy pot fillers over the stove because that would be really cool. My brother ended up looking over at me with the most puzzled expression of disbelief. He asked me something to the extent of “Don’t you realize that I’d have to do a ton of work to even get to the point where that would be even something to begin thinking about?” My response went along the lines of “Don’t you have those little things that you think would be so cool to have or do in the future that isn’t a super high priority, but still are to some extent goals?” With this, he shook his head and muttered something about how that is the most Victoria thing ever. 

My personal definition of a major life goal is what you would normally think of as a goal you would want to achieve in life. For me, it might be that I want to change the world in a macro-systematic way. Oh, and that I want to help people. That’s super important too. These are the main things that you want to accomplish in your life. Maybe you want to be a parent. Maybe you want to make a million dollars in a year. Those big things that may be super difficult to accomplish and might require a lot of sacrifices. 

A minor life goal is something that if it were to happen, it would be a thing that would make you smile and have a little realization of how far you’ve come. For me, one of those things was getting a window seat somewhere where I would live. When I moved to China, my bedroom had a little window seat. In my ideal world, I would have curled up in that every evening and read a novel. But it was really uncomfortable, so I only did that a few times before deciding that I’d be better off sitting on the couch directly in front of the ac. Another minor life goal of mine is to visit every continent. It’s not at the absolute top of my list of must-do’s but if it happens, I would count it as a win. 

These things may seem stupid or ridiculous to some, but for me, they are a way to stay grounded and humbled in a sense. These little wins (and big ones) make me realize that my life is heading in the direction I’ve dreamed of. They allow me to have a moment of realization that I’m not actually failing at life, even if it feels like it sometimes. I’ve learned that most of the time the things that seem to matter the most are the things that seem insignificant or silly in the moment. Maybe getting pie at a cafe with my friend during our senior year of college was a moment that I’ll cherish because we both took that little bit of time out of our days to go to the cafe and get some coffee and pie. I don’t remember the conversation that we had that day, but I remember that feeling. I don’t remember what happened the day I saw I had a window seat, but I remember that little moment of satisfaction because of that minor life goal being achieved. 

Maybe you’re finishing reading this wondering what was the point of all these words strung together. I don’t really have a good answer for that. But if you can take just a few moments of your day to dream about the possibilities, the ‘what if’s, and ideas you’ve had brewing in the back of your mind. Allow your mind to wander. Maybe write some things down. Give yourself the creative space to imagine your ideal world and life and future. I’d love to hear what you’re dreaming of and if you can dream it maybe look into how you can make it a reality. It’s always amazing when dreams come true.