Propane reflections: Are you where you thought you’d be?

When I was 10, I was going to be an astronaut.

I could envision myself walking next to those first brave men, down the gangway and toward the rocket ship in the movie “The Right Stuff.”

No question, end of story, thank you for playing.

When I was 15, I knew the NFL was only waiting for my phone call so it could witness my skills firsthand and put me on national television. The greatest linebacker since Lawrence Taylor. We even wore the same number, which had to be more than a coincidence. At least in my adolescent mind.

Fast forward life a few years.

I am not near good enough at advanced physics calculations to be an astronaut. Dream dead.

Outside of my little hometown in southeast central Michigan, there isn’t a football fan who ever saw me play a single down. Dream dead.

Life has its twists and turns. The road is long and winding and full of options and unique outcomes.

When the call to the leadership bell rang, I answered it.

Never once did I think that propane was going to be the arena in which I played or the new frontier that I once wanted to explore, but here we are, and I love it.

In reality, very few of us are doing what we dreamed at 10 years old. Hey, if you are, then you have amazing vision and dedication to turn that passion into a lifelong reality. For the other 99 percent of us, we just got here – possibly through a lot of different decisions, a few mistakes, an opportunity and, in some cases, a desire.

Regardless of how you arrived at your current state of being, here you are, and you are the one person in the world from whom you cannot get away … ever. So, let’s make the best of it. Let’s be the best version of ourselves this year.

By this point in the new year, some of our New Year’s intentions have already been abandoned, possibly already forgotten. Some are hanging around in the back of our minds that we still want to start, but we don’t know how.

Let’s start with a few questions: Do you know where you want to go next, personally or professionally? Can you identify the steps needed to get there?

If you can, I would recommend a short book by Jon Acuff called “All It Takes Is a Goal.” It really helped me look at goals, set them, take incremental steps to achieve them and offer myself grace if I stumble along the way.

If you aren’t sure where you want to go next, then here is another read (or listen) that might help you identify what is truly important to you: Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why.” Read it, think about it, internalize it. You will thank me later.

Through this column, I will do my part to help and toss out ideas, challenging questions and some solutions that have worked for me. Hopefully, you can find some value in them as well.

Let’s work on your upgrade.

Aaron Huizenga is East Division manager for Lakes Gas in Wisconsin. Reach him at ahuizenga@lakesgas.com.