By recognizing that you kill dreams, you just took the first step in creating your best life. With this awareness, when ideas and dreams cross your mind, you won’t dismiss them so easily. If you have really decided to see a dream as an opportunity, instead of a waste of time, living life your way is just around the corner. When you start a sentence with, “I know this sounds crazy…”, pay attention! That crazy idea could be your future.
You may have noticed that as you get older, time seems to move faster. Summers are shorter, you often run behind, and spend more time than ever before catching up. No matter how we perceive the passing of time, the fact is, that the clock is ticking. Every moment that you don’t get started, is a moment that passes you by. This is not to say you should always be busy, but isn’t it time to stop waiting for the perfect time?
Let’s go back to the three steps to start dreaming from How to Stop Killing Dreams:
Three easy steps to start dreaming again:
- Write it down. Make a list of all of your dreams. Do not censor this list. Go crazy! Dreams can include easy stuff like, “I want to have a short funky haircut” or “I want to grow an herb garden in my kitchen” to “I want to move to Spain and work for myself” and everything in between. If you can’t fill an entire piece of paper, than your life is perfect or you need inspiration and permission to dream. Here is your permission: Do it. It is your responsibility to define what “best” means to you and go after it. Do not waste your life living a life that you did not intend to live. For inspiration, go for a walk, lay down in the grass and look up, draw a picture, cook a beautiful meal. Connect with dream makers (see my list below). Do something different.
- Make a dream come true. Circle three things on your list that you can accomplish in the next week, and do them.
- Pick a big dream. Use the momentum from living three of your dreams, and circle three big ones. Yes, even that one that you think you can never bring to life. Now that you have three big dreams, here comes the tough part. Choose one. Choose the one that makes your heart smile. Write it down on a separate piece of paper and tape it to your mirror in the bathroom, or somewhere you can see it everyday.
Making dreams instead of breaking them can be a big transition, but considering you only get one life, it is worth the effort to decide to change. You can choose to change and that is so cool! If you haven’t taken these steps, please do them. You need the momentum from #2 to attack #3 with confidence. Assuming that you have written down and taped your #1 dream or big idea somewhere you can see it everyday, the idea is gaining energy. You are thinking about it often. Now that you know how to dream again, it is time to start turning dreams into reality.
How to make a dream come true:
Dream it – Follow through on steps 1-3 above.
Focus – It is ok to keep dreaming, but give a certain amount of time every day to your #1. Devote 15 minutes or more each day to making your dream come true. Track your progress in a journal or Google doc. Write down ideas, questions, anything that will move you closer to living your dream.
Be realistic – If this dream is going to come to life, you will have to get real with it. Make a list of every obstacle you can think of standing between you and your dream. Be specific and don’t confuse these obstacles with deal breakers.
Tell someone – Be proud of your dream. Tell a friend over the phone or the world through a blog. Talking about your dream will help you believe in it and help you solve problems getting there.
Stop punishing yourself – Just because you haven’t made the best decisions, or you aren’t dealing with the best circumstances does not mean that you aren’t meant for something better. It does not mean that you can’t change and it sure as hell doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve to live your dream.
Be flexible – As you address the obstacles, and start talking more about your dream, you may find you want something slightly or radically different from the original idea. So what? Letting go is not the same as giving up, and progress does not look the same for everyone.
Your life may seem very defined. Maybe you have settled in or hunkered down. You might not want to make waves. That being said, if you are reading this blog, and others like it, you know that path of least resistance will kill you. Dream big and act bigger. Take the necessary steps to live your dream. It might take months or years or decades, but getting there will start to be as amazing as being there. Don’t wait for the right time, or the perfect moment, start now. Waiting for the kids to finish school, or to be out of debt, or until you lose 20 lbs will keep you right where you are.
If you aren’t ready to get started, figure out what is holding you back from taking the first step. Fear of failure? Fear of looking silly? Laziness? Depression? What could be more scary than living a life that passed you by? What could be worse than going day to day feeling uninspired, unmotivated and stuck. Feeling silly, facing fear, and being a little crazy will help you choose to change. Admit it, embrace it, fix it and move forward. This is the right time, your perfect moment to start living life on purpose.
The right time is right now, what are you waiting for?
