When you write about achievement and beliefs, you come across a lot of “inspirational” people and quotes. I don’t mean people who inspire you, like great historical figures or people you know who have done a lot. I mean people who describe themselves as inspirational.

For some reason, a lot of them tell people they can do anything they can dream if they just set their minds to it and work for it.

Is it just me, or can you dream a lot more than you can do? I mean, I can dream of flying. I have dreamed of flying, and not in a plane. Just me, flying around like gravity didn’t affect me. No wings, no plane, no jet engine or propellers. Just me. I could move around arbitrarily. It felt beautiful and amazing.

To say anyone can do anything they dream implies to me people have limited dreams or are fooling themselves. I’ve never seen or heard of anyone flying like in my dream. Others have dreamed the same. Why haven’t they done it? Or are they hiding it from the rest of us?

I searched on “you can do anything you want” and found an article entitled “You can do anything you want, if you want to. Here’s How.” The author told how she cycled in a ride about AIDS awareness

When I heard about Aids Life Cycle, I thought, I have a bike! I can do that! So, I enrolled the next day. I did not plan on becoming an uber-cyclist, so I had no interest in getting the proper cycling gear, pimping out my bike, or spending hours training for the ride. I knew that biking 545 miles in 7 days was a bit crazy, but never once did I doubt that I would be able to do it.

I applaud that she did it and feel happy for her happiness and achievement. but in terms of doing anything you want, riding a bike seems tame. If you can do anything you want and you want to help with AIDS, why don’t you cure AIDS? For that matter, why don’t you fly, end poverty, or something like that? What does anything mean to someone if it maxes out at riding a bike, even if farther than she ever had before?

Aren’t people who talk this way lowering their self-awareness? Isn’t lowering self-awareness the opposite direction of personal development? How long can the bliss of ignorance last, unless you actively try to keep yourself ignorant, and who wants ignorance?

Did I overstate myself? Am I missing something? How does saying you can do anything you can dream of improve your life if that’s all you do with it? Aren’t people who say things like the following quotes I found fooling themselves or dreaming too little?

• It takes great courage to change your life. The truth is you can do anything, but you’ve got to believe it.
• You can do anything in life you set your mind to, provided it is powered by your heart.
• If you believe in yourself you can do anything.
• Limits are for people who let their fear overpower their capabilities. Be fearless you can do anything you set your mind to if you work hard.
• Doesn’t matter who you are, you can do what ever inspires you and you can do anything that you set your mind to.
• You can do anything you set your mind to. Don’t let the doubts of others stop you. With hard work & faith, you can reach your dreams.

My greatest emotional reward comes from things I actively do. People achieving so little and calling it so much seem to be moving in the opposite direction, keeping themselves ignorant, or have ridiculously modest dreams.

• ← Do you rely on authority to lead?
• Why people get fat, from a systems perspective →