Hello! Do you ever catch yourself always dreaming about the future, but have no idea how to even begin sorting them out or making them happen? Or do you feel stuck in your routine with no dreams at all?
I don’t know about you, but I am a very organized person. I have found it helpful to organize things into steps whenever possible. It helps to solidify all my bazillion thoughts flying through my head. (Yes, I am a big list person!) Here is a step-by-step process I created to help you make your dreams into reality.
Dream, Dream, Dream!
In this first stage, think of all your possibilities. Imagine all the things you would love to experience, learn, and become. Create your perfect world. Follow the “map” down different pathways and imagine where they might take you. This stage is super important as long as you don’t get stuck here. The problem arises when you never leave the dreaming stage.
Discover Your Passion.
Now is the time to sort through all those dreams and find out what you’re really serious about pursuing. We aren’t cats. We don’t have nine lives – just one! I don’t know about you, but I want to get it right! Sit with all the dreams you’ve dreamt up for a while and see which ones feel right. Which ones go away and which ones really stick with you? A passion will give you a spark. It will make you want to jump out of bed in the morning. Truly, a passion gives you a purpose. You may need to do some work in this phase. Talk to people who are living out some of the dreams you thought of. Research the pros and cons. Take a course in photography or salsa dancing, whatever your dreams might be. Sometimes, you don’t know what you really love until you try it.
Set goals and Work hard.
Now that you’ve done your research and discovered what you’re passionate about, it’s time to really put in the work! Phase 2 involved some work but nothing drastically life changing. Now that you’ve made it this far, you have to do everything in your power to make it work. This will most likely consist of more in depth research, hours of learning, and even more hours of working. Usually, this phase comes with sacrifice. Maybe you need to sacrifice financially or maybe it’s your time or services. You may need to quit your job. You will need to step out of your comfort zone and overcome obstacles. Failure is not an option. This phase will test how serious you truly are about reaching your goals. If you’re not serious enough, this phase will probably break you and you’ll give up.
Enjoy your success.
It’s time to reap the benefits! Learning is a life long process. There will always be more to learn and more work to do, but by this point you have made it. You are starting to see the return on investment from all the hard work you put in. Maybe it’s a product you created that is getting popular or your dream house that you finally are able to afford. Whatever it might be, enjoy it!
What happens if I fail? Well, I don’t believe you ever truly fail unless you don’t learn anything from your experience. Maybe you learn that it wasn’t what you thought it would be and it’s not what you really want. Nine times out of ten I think people fail because they just didn’t want it enough. It’s human nature to want to give up when things aren’t going our way or aren’t happening as quickly as we’d like. What sets the truly successful people apart from everyone else is perseverance in the midst of difficulty and frustration. However, if your dream doesn’t work out, it’s time to start the process all over again and go back to the dreaming phase.
This process is not just one and done. It is something you will need to go through your whole life. It’s important to always have a dream or a goal you’re working towards. That’s how we grow! Once you reach your goal and accomplish your dream, take some time to just enjoy it then find the next thing to work towards!