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What Do You Want Out of Life?

knowwhatyouwant

Almost 7 years ago, I found myself falling in love with Capoeira, a Brazilian martial arts. Capoeira is more than just a sport as it also provides a holistic experience of what Brazil culture is all about.

With Capoeira, you get to learn more than just the sport. You’ll also learn the beautiful language, the local songs, how to play the instruments and how to dance the Samba. It’s truly a window to exciting and endless possibilities; a rich culture that only a few gets to appreciate.

Having said this, being a capoeirista myself entitled me to have a cool nickname – Sonhadora, the Portuguese term for “dreamer”. It was such a good name to have, so deep and meaningful but the story behind that name was just hilarious to say the least.

Inception.

During one training day, I was caught daydreaming – everyone was already moving and I was just standing there in the middle of the formation – totally spaced out. It took me a few seconds to realize what was happening, and when I did, it was too late as everyone was already laughing, including my coach. I didn’t really know what came over me that day; all I know was that incident earned me a nickname – one that I will treasure forever.

Sonhadora. A dreamer.

I consider myself a dreamer but also a realist at the same time. I reached for the moon and the stars but I also take a dose of reality once in awhile. My friends would even consider me a pessimist at times, but in reality, I was just managing failures and disappointments that came along with our so-called lives.

Dreams, or how we want to live our lives, change as we grow old. And as adulthood approaches, we can always expect that those dreams change drastically.

Nowadays, I kept asking myself “what do I really want out of life?” And my reply would be simple and consistent – to live a life that is inspiring to others.  Everyday, I strive to find a deeper meaning of life with the end goal of fulfilling my life’s purpose, whatever that may be.

In life’s simplicity and complexity, you long to do more and be more but in reality, how much are you willing to risk and to give back? Are you willing to give up your minor life for grander maybes? What do you want out of life?

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” – Steve Jobs

Date written: November 10, 2014