If Only
I imagine the satisfaction. I'll get up early, I tell myself, settle in at a local coffee shop, and get some work done before doing much else on a Saturday morning. The rest of my day will be enriched with a sense of accomplishment. Won't that feel good? However, on the appointed day the inspiration has evaporated, as if proximity asserted a gravitational force capable of displacing the promise of good intentions. I conjure being more productive than I usually am. Reality is often different when it arrives. However, knowing this doesn't interfere with continuing to project ahead. Even when I do follow such a preconceived plan, the sense of accomplishment usually pales to what I had imagined it would be. Those engaged with environmental sustainability issues know this dynamic. The idea of recycling more, switching to renewable energy, or driving less, is more compelling than doing it. Some enterprising firms employ financial incentives to try to inflect such habits, but sustained behavior change is a deeply ingrained challenge. Does this impulse to envision a more glorious future than I actually realize stem from having internalized this same fundamental concept of "The American Dream" that is so deeply infused in our history and culture? The promise of achieving something better, however vaguely defined, triggers something in my brain and has compelled me to pursue different projects. Imagination is a prerequisite for innovation which is why we so often fall short. But there's a gap, as I tend to experience every week, between what I conjure and what I do, which suggests I should dream more boldly so that when I inevitably fall short, at least some meaningful progress has been made.
