The Daring Romantics Podcast

Episode No. 29

i think, throughout life — i thought that life was going to be one straight line.

as a college student, i thought— “i’ll graduate college, move to boston, start a non-profit, and get married.”

simple as that.

yet, what life started showing me…

was that dream chasing is anything but a straight line. 

my plans for boston fell through. and, despite how much i didn’t want to stay in my college town i found myself there—interning. nannying. not making a salary, and living off taco bell.

during this season of life, i felt like — “what the heck am i doing?” 

i felt like i had all these big extravagant plans for life, and here i was— stuck at a detour.

i couldn’t see how interning was going to help me to get to where i wanted to be.

and more than anything, it felt like it was slowing me down from reaching my dreams and goals.

this wasn’t the straight line to dreams come true that i had envisioned for myself.  

if i am being honest, i think that i wasted a lot of valuable time resenting my journey— resenting the sharp left turns, the detours, and the forks in the road that i encountered along the way.

it’s not that i wanted an “easy” road, but i wanted a direct route to my dream. because, i thought that’s what it meant to be successful.

but what i’ve realized throughout my journey, is that there’s no such thing as direct route when you’re dream chasing. because, dream chasing is too wild and spontaneous for a straight, clean line. 

the path of dream chasing is more like driving through the mountains, where you have to keep your hand on the steering wheel the whole time, because there’s twists and turns in the roads. there’s uphill climbs, and steep declines. there’s change in paces as you go around the bends of the road. and, at some point, the road is narrow — keeping you on alert. the views along this road are spectacular, but, it’s not like driving the empty highways of oklahoma where you can put yourself on cruise control and sit back and relax as you drive a straight shot to the next city.

if we’re choosing the path of dream chasing, then we have to also choose to commit and embrace to the winding journey that it’ll take us on. there’s no straight shot.

you see, what we fail to realize sometimes, is that if we had a straight shot to our dreams, if our paths were completely linear— we’d miss out on experiencing the very things that equip us to make magic in the world. at each turn, detour, pit stop — we gain something, leave something behind, or produce something that will help us on the road up ahead and give us the tools, knowledge, wisdom, and understanding that we need to make impact in our community and industries. 

this week, on the daring romantics podcast, i’m opening up about my own journey — sharing how it’s been anything but a straight line. it’s been crooked, messy, full of detours, and sharp turns — but, without those sometimes unexpected curves on my path, i wouldn’t be who i am or where i am today. and, for that— i am eternally grateful.

i hope more than anything, at the end of this episode, that you walk away with the confidence that you’re on the right path. even if your journey looks and feels a little crooked, jagged, rugged, and unconventional. life isn’t a straight line. my wish is that this episode helps you to learn how to celebrate every curve in your road with the confidence that each curve, each climb uphill, or change in pace is leading you to somewhere more breathtaking than your wildest imagination.

tune into the episode no. 29 “it’s not a straight line” on iTunes or stitcher.

cheers and xo’s,

lindsey eryn