How Many More Sleeps Until We Wake Up?

There are times in life when we can become so comfortable with simply getting through each day that we stop asking where we are actually going.

We get up, go to work, deal with responsibilities, come home, go to bed and repeat it all again tomorrow. From the outside, everything may look perfectly normal. Life is moving, but are we?

Sometimes the biggest danger is not failure. It is becoming so comfortable with where we are that we stop noticing how much more may be possible.

That is what it means to be asleep to your own life.

When Existing Replaces Living

Apathy, complacency, compromise and procrastination can creep into our lives quietly.

We tell ourselves that we will start when things settle down. We will make the change when we have more time. We will follow the opportunity when we feel more confident. We will deal with the problem next week, next month or next year.

There is always a reason to wait.

Eventually, waiting can become a way of life.

We begin accepting circumstances that once would have bothered us. Dreams that once excited us become distant thoughts. Goals are pushed aside because they seem too difficult or inconvenient.

We may not even realise it is happening.

Life has not necessarily gone badly. We have simply stopped expecting very much from it.

That is where apathy becomes dangerous.

Apathy Does Not Always Look Like Giving Up

When we think of someone giving up, we often imagine a person who has stopped trying completely.

Apathy can be much more subtle.

It can sound like:

• “It will all work itself out.”
• “Maybe one day.”
• “I am too busy at the moment.”
• “There is no point trying because nothing will change.”
• “I will wait until the right opportunity comes along.”

There is nothing wrong with being patient or accepting that some things take time. The problem begins when patience becomes an excuse for avoiding action.

There is a difference between waiting wisely and simply waiting.

Apathy tells us that tomorrow is always a better day to begin.

Unfortunately, tomorrow has a habit of becoming another today.

The Comfort Zone Can Become a Very Small Place

Comfort is not necessarily a bad thing. We all need periods of stability and security.

The problem comes when comfort becomes more important than growth.

If we are never willing to feel uncertain, try something new or risk getting something wrong, our world can gradually become smaller.

• We stay with what we know.
• We choose what feels safe.
• We avoid conversations that need to happen.
• We ignore opportunities because we cannot guarantee the outcome.

Eventually, the comfort zone that once made us feel secure can become the very thing that keeps us stuck.

Growth usually requires some degree of discomfort.

• Learning something new can be uncomfortable.
• Changing direction can be uncomfortable.
• Admitting that something is no longer working can be uncomfortable.
• Taking the first step towards a long-held dream can certainly be uncomfortable.

That discomfort does not necessarily mean we are making the wrong decision. Sometimes it simply means we are moving.

Stop Waiting for the Big Break

One of the easiest traps to fall into is believing that success depends on one extraordinary opportunity.

• We wait for the right person to notice us.
• We wait for the perfect business opportunity.
• We wait for enough money.
• We wait until we feel completely prepared.
• We wait for the big break.

The problem is that opportunities rarely arrive with a sign telling us exactly what they will become.

• Sometimes the opportunity is a conversation.
• Sometimes it is learning a new skill.
• Sometimes it is attending an event, making a phone call, asking a question or saying yes to something that feels slightly outside our comfort zone.

Small opportunities can lead to places we could never have predicted.

If we are waiting only for something spectacular, we may overlook the small opportunities sitting directly in front of us.

As Og Mandino said:

“Be prepared to capitalise on the next opportunity that presents itself, or, better still, to make your own opportunities.”

That idea is just as relevant today.

Opportunity is not always something we find.

Sometimes it is something we create.

What Are You Sleeping Through?

Perhaps the better question is not whether opportunities exist.

It is whether we are awake enough to recognise them.

• Are you putting something off because you are waiting for the perfect time?
• Is there a conversation you know you need to have?
• Is there something you have wanted to learn, change or begin?
• Have you convinced yourself that the opportunity has passed?
• Are you settling for something simply because changing it would require effort?

These are not questions designed to make us feel guilty about where we are.

They are an invitation to pay attention.

Sometimes waking up begins with simply recognising that we have been going through the motions.

You Do Not Need to Change Everything Today

Waking up to possibility does not mean throwing your entire life into chaos.

You do not have to quit your job tomorrow, launch a new business next week or completely reinvent yourself.

You simply need to stop assuming that nothing can change.

• Choose one area.
• Take one step.
• Make one phone call.
• Learn one thing.
• Have one conversation.
• Explore one opportunity.

Ask yourself what you would do differently if you stopped waiting for everything to be perfect.

Small action has a way of creating momentum.

Once we begin moving, we often see possibilities that were invisible while we were standing still.

Maybe Today Is the Day to Wake Up

There will always be reasons to wait.

There will always be uncertainty.

There will always be something that makes staying where we are feel easier than moving forward.

The question is how long we are prepared to sleep through the opportunities around us.

• Apathy may tell you that nothing needs to change.
• Complacency may tell you that where you are is good enough.
• Fear may tell you to stay comfortable.
• Procrastination may tell you there is always tomorrow.

Your life, however, is happening today.

You do not need to know exactly where the next step will lead.

You simply need to be awake enough to see it and willing enough to take it.

Perhaps the question is no longer, “How many more sleeps until we wake up?”

Perhaps the question is, “What could change if I decided to wake up today?”