by Jodi
"No matter where you are in life, celebrate it. It's either a product of your growth or a place that will help you grow. Cheers to today." ~ @thebehappyproject
Last night, I dreamt about an old friend I haven’t seen or heard from in years. He was an airline friend, way back when all my friends were in aviation because no one else had the same crazy schedule that we did. In those days, most of us worked at small airlines and many had already worked at several different companies that hadn't survived. Our big dream was being hired by one of the major airlines. We knew that’d mean flying the long international routes on big, dual-aisle airplanes. Unlike the crazy unpredictability of our small airline schedules, we were sure a major airline included not only an amazing schedule; it also ensured a fat paycheck. We all wanted the same thing and it’s the reason we put up with all the things that really just plain sucked. Things like our small airlines going bust and our job disappearing into thin air without any notice; horribly long days with little to no pay protection when our trip got all messed up; living tethered to a pager (that’s the precursor to cell phones for the younger generation who might be wondering); sharing crappy little apartments with too many roommates to count in order to make rent; working every single weekend & holiday… it was like being a perpetually poor, starving college student for years without ever ending up with a degree.
When I woke up from the dream and thought about my present life, it hit me … I’ve made it! The fact is, I now do work for the one of the largest airlines in the United States. The trips I I fly are to Europe, Asia, and Africa. My position is either as the Purser or Service Leader which means I’m in charge of the Main Cabin or the whole entire plane. For 10 years I was also an Italian speaking flight attendant, another goal I set for myself which included learning to speak a new language and moving to Italy all by myself for several months to study and practice speaking to anyone who would listen. After 25+ years with the same major airline, I’m currently at the top of the pay scale. It appears that I’ve done exactly what we all set out to do all those years ago.
Then I realized I’ve never stopped to pat myself on the back. In actuality, I never even realized that I’d achieved the big goal. It made me wonder - WHY do we do that to ourselves? Why do we set these big lofty goals, plan our lives around detailed and challenging road maps of how to get where we want to be and then completely forget to stop and celebrate once we’ve gotten there? The fact is that I’m now living the life I spent years wanting and working towards. Can you relate? If you take a minute to think about it - you’re actually living the reality that you manifested from an idea that was once your dream.
These days, my wants are different and I’ve got goals and dreams which are completely unrelated to aviation. The thing is I wouldn’t have the audacity to want more, the courage to work towards those dreams and the tenacity to stick it out and keep trying without having achieved the lofty goals that led me where I find myself today. Every little victory stands on the foundation created by our previous triumph as we continue building our life.
So I propose that it’s a really great idea, every once in a while, to look back and remember what your goals were before you ended up where you currently are. Turns out there’s some big and little wins along the way that we should take time to appreciate. Those wins set us up with enough confidence to keep pursuing all new dreams lighting a fire in us right now. Let me boldly suggest that our next goal setting exercise includes some time to give ourselves a High 5 🖐️ for the all the wins that brought to the present moment.
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