There Is A Desire…
Let me go out on a limb and make a guess about you.
I would guess you probably have a dream. If I had to guess, it’s probably buried deeply in your heart under layers of self-doubt, daily tasks of life, the fuzziness of your youth, or the insecurities of trying something new.
Today, I want to simply give you a reminder of how you can begin the process of excavating your dream. To dig underneath the dirt that covers your dream. To chip away at the layers. To let it slowly see the light of day without overwhelming it or having to have everything figured out at once.
And to do so, I want to give you the imagery given to us by Susan Cain in a Ted Talk she gave almost a decade ago…
The Suitcase
Susan, well young middle school Susan, was an introvert who loved books.
Her parents had a deep desire for her as a bookworm to grow into a social butterfly. So, they did what parents do. They placed her in the cocoon of a summer camp. Get her out of her comfort zone. Spread her wings (or at least grow some) and socialize with other kids. Maybe this would help her come out of her shell…
Susan accepted this adventure as long as she could bring her books with her. She stuffed them into every nook and cranny of her suitcase (this is too relatable to all of us who love books). Her books were like friends to her. Her internal conversations were page turners. They became part of her personality and what she loved to share.
Going to summer camp was fine, but Susan reflects on one sad reality while being away at camp. Everytime she attempted to pull a book out, she received a vibe that it was not acceptable. Nonverbally she was told, this isn’t the space or place for this side of you to come out. Susan adhered to the guidance and never showed this side of herself while at camp.
Camp ended and Susan moved on with her life.
Reflecting on this experience at the end of her Ted Talk, she encouraged us to consider what she never had the instinct to do. Pulling out the suitcase of books would’ve been a way for people to know her and know what she had to offer to the world. If she could do it all over again, she would’ve found one place or one person to show her suitcase of books.
Susan’s point? “Open up your suitcase for other people to see because the world needs you and it needs the things you carry.”1
Open It Up Slowly…
Now, here is your reminder: Your dream is your suitcase.
You’re already carrying it around with you. Your dream doesn’t need to be a five step plan with footnotes, a slide show, and growth plan. Your dream is what you’ve packed with you through living life. It’s your experience. It’s what inspires you. It’s what you’ve learned in life. It’s what you desire for others who are trying to live life.
In other words, dreams aren’t always something you create from scratch but something you slowly unpack.
The hard reality of growing up is that the inertia of the world doesn’t provide very many places to unpack your suitcase of dreams. We have deadlines, projects, bills, and families to take care of in life. The nonverbals of the world tell us this isn’t the place or space for your dreams.
This is where I want you to rip a page from Susan’s playbook.
When it comes to your dreams, I want you to ask this question: “How is this helpful to someone else?”
And once you answer this question, find a way to try out that dream in a small corner of your world. Find a small place to begin opening up the suitcase to someone or something and see what happens. Maybe it’s a friend? Maybe you start working it into a small part of your job? Maybe it’s an Instagram account dedicated to the idea?
And if your dream is helpful, other people will help you start finding bigger suitcases to place it in.
Why?
In the words of Susan, “you need to open up your suitcase for others to see because the world needs you and needs what you’re carrying.”2
We’re all onto something.
So get to unpacking…
References
1The following quotations are from Susan Cain, “The Power of Introverts,” TED2012, February 2012, www.td.com/talks/susan_cain_the_power_of_introverts/transcript#t-1115856.
1Same quote & citation as above.