Setting goals has always been a big part of my life. I feel like staying focused on what you want to achieve in life definitely helps you get there...or try to. Of course it can sometimes seem very overwhelming to think about what it might actually take to reach certain goals, but if you never set them and attempt to work toward them, you will never know what is possible. If you have read other posts on this blog, you will already know some of the goals I have had in my life and how I achieved them. I didn't always think everything I wanted to do would be possible, but that did not stop me from trying. I will turn 50 next year and I still have many things I want to accomplish as I enter this next phase of my life. I think to dream is to live, and doing everything you can to make those dreams a reality allows you to live your best life.
I felt goal oriented from a pretty young age and was always trying to do my best in school with hopes of getting into a good college. I played sports through high school including lacrosse and horseback riding. Sometimes I wished I had chosen one or the other so I could give 100% to just that one. I loved them both though, and didn't want to give up either one. Ultimately I got into my first choice college and continued to play lacrosse there, but gave up riding. I now set my sights on being the best lacrosse player I could be and on getting into medical school. My college lacrosse career was good, but I missed my sophomore season due to a knee injury and surgery. When I returned, I never felt like I achieved the great level I was hoping for. I worked as hard as I could, and I was a strong player but not the best on the team. I was a team captain both junior and senior years, so while I did not get all the way to the level I had hoped, I look back on it as an achievement especially coming back after an injury. I did, however get into medical school and above you see the happy graduate...Dr.Towsen!
Next goal...become an orthopedic surgeon. My Monday blog from last week talks all about this process so I won't go into details here. It was my dream at that time, and I was able to make it a reality. I have been living this dream for the past 22 years, and I have to say it just feels more like living the reality now. So what does that mean? It means I have lost a bit of the drive and excitement that I had in the earlier years of my career. I guess what that really means is I need a new dream! I will expand on this shortly.
My main motivation and driving force in life arrived 20 years ago and then a second time 18 years ago when I had my daughters. I dreamed of becoming a mom, and I always wanted to have two children (just like my mom did). This dream becoming a reality is the greatest gift in my life and raising my two beautiful daughters, with the help of my parents, to be strong independent young women is my greatest accomplishment. They are now out in the world, attending their first choice colleges in two of the most amazing cities in the US. #soproud
So now what? Keep dreaming!! If the work I trained for all those years is not what I want to do for the rest of my life, now is the time to start working on something else. I think the concept of changing a career path or doing something completely new at my age can be a little daunting for some. I think many would feel best just to stay the course. It is certainly a great career which has allowed me to help many people and provide a nice life for my family. I could spend the next 15 years doing this, and who knows, maybe I will. However, if I am dreaming of my life going in a different direction, I need to at least try to make that happen. "The Working Mom" is born! Lisa came to a similar crossroads in her life and we decided to start this company and try to "create the life you don't need a vacation from". This is overwhelming for sure, and we are learning as we go. We have big dreams for the future and want to develop a brand and a business in support of working moms across the globe. We are taking small steps day by day to build this, and we have a strong vision of what we want the future to look like. I will admit, I think we both had the false hope that we would be this incredible overnight success, but the reality of this dream is that it will take hard work, time...and patience. We could give up because we didn't see the success we thought we would after almost 6 months...or we can work harder and make it happen. For us, the latter is the only option. We are bursting with ideas and excitement for this company and the future, and it feels great to have that type of energy for what will hopefully be a big part of the next phase of my life.
I also discovered a passion I was not looking for when I began taking ballroom dance lessons a few years ago. It started out as just something to do casually for fun, but then became so much more once I started a serious program with my incredible instructor and began doing pro-am competitions. I was then living a dream that I didn't even know I had. It is hard for me to truly describe how wonderful this sport is, but it came into my life at just the right time, and I feel very fortunate. I now have dreams of what I would like to accomplish with this as well, but the future remains a bit uncertain in large part due to the pandemic. I am very hopeful that my dance journey can also continue. Having something just for me now that my kids are grown has had a wonderful impact on my life. I hope that the dance dreams I have will one day also be a reality.
So, my advice...dare to dream and then do everything in your power to make those dreams reality. You will never know if it's possible if you don't try.