Assignment time! Sound a bit scary? Well, for some people it may very well be but for others, it may be a time for adventure to begin…

Here it the assignment I received – an actual assignment, to be completed by the end of the class semester: Think of something you have always wanted to do but for some reason or another have never gone out and done it – - – and then DO IT!

That’s it. That’s the assignment. What have you always dreamed of accomplishing? What goal do you hold dear to you that for some reason you have not yet attained? We all have them – goals and excuses. It’s interesting when we begin to think about what is holding us back. Sometimes they are plausable reasons but other times we have some doozies.

Take me for example, I am a musician and I play a few instruments but the one instrument I desire most to play is last on my list to learn. Why? Sometimes I think its to encourage me to get through mastering the others so I can be rewarded with my prize in the end. But in actuality, if I were honest, I think it has more to do with the fact that if I struggle with an instrument towards the top of my list I will be less heartbroken and able to work through it. If I struggle with my instrument of choice I am more likely to act like a spoiled child, giving up with the “woe is me” syndrome and a few “I’ll never be able to play this” which as a musician I already know in my head is not true. My heart though – well, that tends to be a whole different story.

Now I know that was a very simplistic example but a lot of our goals are far more important than adding another instrument to our repetoire and it is that fear of failure on such a big scale (remember it wasn’t any task – it was our dream) that paralyzes us into never taking action and yet we still linger in that dream as if one day it will magically come to pass.

As we were mulling this challenge over, I heard varying responses. Some people wanted to do something as simple as drive somewhere on their own and others had internal goals like healing old relationships. Some just had places they wanted to go, adventures they wanted to begin; sailing, sky diving, riding in a hot air balloon and other thrillsome activities.

I was pleased to realize that much of what I wanted to accomplish I had already done but there was one thing… well two, when you count that instrument. I have always wanted to write a book I just never had a topic, or so I thought. But that seemed a bit too menacing of a task to tackle in just a semester. But when I went home I found a file on my computer titled “Tid Bits”. It was just a compilation of thoughts I had gotted down through the years but when I saw them all together on the menu screen, I realized I had an outline to work with. So a month later, I am now on my final edit of my first book and all because of a challenge I received in school.

So now, I pass the challenge onto you. What are some of those dreams that you long to accomplish and have been putting off? What held you back? And most importantly, which one will tackle first?