Question and Thought for the Day January 14, 2025

Question of the Day

What’s a dream you’ve abandoned?

Thought of the Day

The world doesn’t care about your dreams. It makes no accommodations for your expectations.

The Daily Stoic

Thought of the Day: The world doesn’t care about your dreams. It makes no accommodations for your expectations.

There’s something brutal about that statement, isn’t there? It stings because it’s true. No one is waiting around to hand you your dream on a silver platter. The world isn’t going to rearrange itself to meet your carefully curated plans. That’s a hard pill to swallow, especially in a culture that loves to tell people, “Follow your dreams” without the fine print: But be prepared to fight for them every step of the way.

The world operates on its own terms, indifferent to our hopes and desires. But here’s the paradox: The world also rewards persistence, grit, and adaptability. It doesn’t make accommodations for our expectations, but it makes room for those who refuse to be deterred by obstacles.

Think of the last time something didn’t go your way. Maybe a job opportunity fell through, a relationship ended, or a project you were excited about flopped. Did the universe stop spinning to console you? Of course not. But if you got up, adjusted your approach, and kept going, you might have noticed something: The world doesn’t care about your dreams, but it does pay attention when you show up, again and again.

Question of the Day: What’s a dream you’ve abandoned?

Most of us have at least one dream we’ve left behind. Maybe it’s that book you never wrote, the business you didn’t start, or the adventure you put off for “later.” Dreams have a way of evolving. Sometimes, what we wanted at 20 doesn’t resonate the same way at 40. And that’s okay—it’s part of growth.

But it’s worth reflecting: Did you abandon that dream because it no longer served you? Or did you abandon it because the world pushed back, and you weren’t prepared for the fight? There’s a big difference between letting go of a dream that no longer aligns with who you are and giving up on one because it was hard.

If it’s the latter, maybe it’s time to revisit it. The world isn’t going to make it easy for you. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth pursuing.