When I was told; “Dream Big”…. and it didn’t work out

“Dream big!”, I was told.  I was wild, free, full of life, energy and ambition.   Thinking of all that could become fueled my imagination and zest!  Visualizing  possibilities fed my soul.   Life was mine for the taking.  I was riding a wave of favor, seeing everything I touched turn to gold.

You can imagine what happened when everything I dreamed and built came crashing down, leaving in me in nothing but ruins.   My world was shattered.   The blue sky was now dark, leaving me in a world of confusion.   “But I was told to dream big?!!”.   My heart, soul and passion was poured out, only to be returned to me crushed and broken.

What had gone wrong?…..

It’s now a few years after, and perspective has become brighter.   Do I still dream?   Yes, I’m an entrepreneur, a maverick in spirit….  placed there by God inside me.   BUT, here’s a little gift I never realized God had given me until chatting with my mentor yesterday.

When my dreams came crashing down, along with it came what felt like a cage.  A cage that would restrain my actions, keeping me under control.  It deprived me of my freedom, forcing me into “constraint”.   This word, “constraint”, was brought to my attention by my mentor who had read a blog by Seth Godin about that very word.  Very intriguing thoughts.   Seth’s blog started with stating: “Every project worth doing comes with constraints.  Our natural inclination is to fight them”.   YES!  I was experiencing this constrain and fighting it head-on.

I never realized, till yesterday, that this constraint that had come into my life was a gift to focus me.  When you’re in a box, you only have so much you can do with your arms and legs.  They can only go so far, causing the moves to be focused.  You could call gravity a constraint, keeping us grounded so we don’t literally get blown by the wind here, there and everywhere.

Could I dare present the idea that the constraint we feel in our lives is actually giving us the power to focus?  Could it be directing us to God’s preferred future for us?  I can see this true for my life looking back to where constraint has led me.

“Where there is no vision, people cast off restraint” (Proverbs 29:10).    “Restraint” in the Hebrew meaning; “getting out of hand, running wild, undisciplined….. to let loose”.

May I present this idea then: Where there is constraint, there is vision.   What these uncontrolled people described in Proverbs needed was a little limitation to give them the vision they needed?

Could this be true?  Could it be that what was taken away was actually this gift of constraint wanting to give you fresh vision?  Could it be what seemed unjust to you was actually just what you needed?   Is it possible that the confusion you felt was actually going to lead to a clarity like you’ve never experienced?

I’m still a dreamer….. but thanks to constraint, one with a bit more focus.