Settling

Settling. 

There is a really clever series of commercials about the "Settlers." Rather than upgrade to a better television service they settle for an inferior viewing experience. Do you ever find yourself settling? 

I remember one of the first times I settled. As a senior in high school I had fallen in love with the 1974 Cutlass Supreme. My friend's sister owned the car, and I just assumed that after I graduated from college so would I. Unfortunately for me they changed the body style of my dream car right before I graduated. 

But in reality it didn't matter much because I made so little money as a beginning teacher that I settled for a used, brown Chevette. The reality of economics hit me hard when I realized that there were many things I probably wouldn't be owning on my salary. I had given up pretty easily on my dream. In fact, I think that experience was the start of a series of decisions that were basically settling. 

Vlad Zachary in his book, The Excellence Habit, states, "We settle one step at a time." When we are children we never question whether our dreams will come true. We confidently declare that we will be a ballerina, a doctor and a mom when we grow up. We seem to have a blind faith that we can achieve it all. 

However, as we enter adulthood we may find ourselves beginning to settle on our dreams or forgetting them all together. The question as to whether we have settled might be one to ponder, and reconsider in planning for the future.