Introspection is a good thing. But it gets dangerous and disappointing as one grows old.

Dreams and aspirations. The younger years are full of them. Everyone wants to be the King of the world. Success, fame and fortune are the things everyone knows he/she is going to have aplenty. The desire to change the world, remove poverty, correct the political system, end misery, happiness for all, do the best in every thing, is all there. In short, change everything you touch, into Gold. And the confidence is so intoxicating.

Life moves on. Things are really not going the way you wanted them to. You did not get the college or the course you wanted, the job that you wanted, the appointment you wanted, the promotion which would have been so good, good friends, caring mentors, the much wanted finance, support from relatives, location…. The entire universe seems to be conspiring against your success. Still you know and believe that you are going to make it and that the first step towards making the dreams a reality is just a day away, just a few steps more. Just waiting for the right time.

Then there comes a time when you sit down and introspect. You are old; half your life is over, maybe more. You realize that all that you wanted is still a far cry from what you had dreamt. The Mercedes Benz is still too expensive, the book is still not published, the dream house is still that, the closest you got to be written about was ‘crowd in the Shakira concert’, your web presence is limited to being a member of the social websites, the world tour never did happen and so on….. Sigh! You would still change the world only if your own life changed.

This is when you realize that you are running out of time. The older people will understand what I am saying. Panic sets in. You realize that the whole life has been spent dreaming. You never did try all those things seriously enough, constantly compromising with the reality, living in the present and making ends meet. Whatever happened to the aspirations, the dreams? In the mad rush to live and keep pace with the world, the things you wanted to do were forgotten, and now it seems to be too late. The Time is running out. Or, is it?

Switch on the computer, start writing the book, work on the website, get the child’s homework done, run errands for spouse, lodge a complaint for the washing machine, play football with elder child, apply for a new job, look for finance to start own business, exercise, doctor’s appointment, ….. Oh God! How am I ever going to keep up?

Frustration turns to desperation to more frustration. It seems you have wasted all the time you had. Maybe the time has come to face the reality. You simply don’t have the time to do everything you wanted to. It’s time you renegotiated with yourself and redrew the dreams and aspirations. More practically too. At least achieve part of what you started out with.

But this time don’t wait for the right time. The right time is NOW.