There is nothing quite as empowering as the moment you realize you have reached your dreams.
Sometimes we can allow our excuses and self-limiting beliefs to prevent us from setting our dreams and goals as high as we truly desire in our hearts.
There are hundreds of reasons we can tell ourselves about why we will never actually achieve what it is we are yearning for. It could be we feel we don’t have the time, money, strength, or support. Perhaps we believe we aren’t smart enough, talented enough, or good enough to have what we dream about. Maybe it’s because we are overwhelmed, or we believe our dream is an impossible undertaking.
When we live life believing we can’t reach our goals, we will prove ourselves right every time. Not only do we risk losing our sense of hope and passion, over time we may stop dreaming altogether.
The truth is, we are all deserving of success and happiness. We are meant to live fully and experience what life has to offer. When we stay on the journey of pursuing our dreams and goals, we receive opportunities to learn valuable life lessons that help us see anything is possible.
Years ago, I dreamed of doing work in the world that would help empower others to believe in who they are. I knew and felt firsthand how debilitating it is to not believe in yourself. Somehow I wanted to help others see their potential and true essence. I started out with a desire to create a resource that parents and educators could use to help instill a sense of empowerment in children. That was my initial goal.
It turned out that this dream involved countless goals. Over the course of nine years I published eleven books with hopes that the messages would resonate and help others believe in themselves. Each of these projects was an enormous undertaking. The creative process involved many months of dedication and patience. Most of the projects took well over a year to create. I had to meet thousands of small goals on the journey to reach my original dream.
I had no idea how much time, effort, and perseverance it would require to reach my initial vision. I’m pretty sure if I had known it all before I put my dream in motion, I would have been too overwhelmed to take that first step.
When we look at all of the steps and unknowns involved in reaching our dream, we can very quickly lose focus. The bigger the dream, the more daunting it can feel. Often this feeling of ‘overwhelm’ can prevent us from ever taking that initial first step.
Over time, I have come to see that my life has been enriched because I have pursued my goals and dreams. Having the willingness to consistently show up and take a step forward is what has helped me truly believe in myself.
Here are the 7 proven strategies I utilize to transform my dreams and goals into reality.
Strategy #1
Have fun setting your goals. Imagine how you want to feel when you reach them. Step into that feeling as though it was already a reality. Visualization is a powerful tool to help you know where you are headed. When we know where we are headed, it’s easier to trust our instincts and stay on our path that’s aligned with our truth.
Remember to make your dreams and goals BIG, and create visual reminders of what they are. Keep those reminders close by. You will need them when you hit your stopping place and need to be reminded why you started out and why you don’t want to quit.
Strategy #2
Focus on taking baby steps in the direction of your goal. Instead of worrying about how many steps it will take, give yourself permission to simply take one step at a time.
Strategy #3
Write your goals down and reverse engineer your overall dream. Start with a monthly plan for what you want to focus on. Then create a weekly and daily snapshot of what you will work on. Make sure your plan is realistic and attainable.
When you move all of the details from your mind onto paper (or computer), you end up spending less time overthinking and worrying about all of the many tasks and projects you have to do. Spend a bit of time each month downloading your game plan. Then instead of wasting a whole bunch of time fretting, you can use that time to actually get stuff done.
Strategy #4
Commit to allotting some time each day where you laser focus in on completing one small task related to your weekly or monthly game plan. Consistency is key. When we spend too much time looking at the big picture, we can get overwhelmed and forget where to start. Know it’s okay to just focus on one small thing at a time. Dream creation is a journey, not a race.
Strategy #5
Talk about your dreams with the special people in your life to create lots of energy around what it is you are doing. When you keep your dreams hidden, it’s way easier to leave them in the dark and never bring them to light. When we have people behind us who know what our big dreams are, they become our support team. They’re the ones we turn to when the journey gets discouraging and we need people we trust to remind us why we ever started in the first place.
Strategy #6
The road to reaching our dreams is often bumpy — that’s normal. It’s not meant to be smooth and overly easy. The bumps are where all of our rich learning and opportunities exist. We may question ourselves (often) and we may feel vulnerable and discouraged. We may even be tempted to work ourselves into burnout in an effort to combat all that’s hard and uncomfortable.
When the journey feels overwhelming, that’s usually the first sign we need to take some time out for ourselves. Make a serious pact with yourself to NOT become so laser focused that you lose your joy in the journey.
Regular self-care is a mandatory part of bringing your dreams to life. Know you can take regular breaks to regroup and recharge and you won’t actually get behind. Recharging your batteries will give you a renewed sense of energy and passion you can put to good use. We can hit the restart button at any time. This is a much better alternative than quitting or losing our faith in the dream itself.
Strategy #7
Remember to celebrate the achievement of each mini-goal along the way. This feeling of excitement and gratitude will create momentum and confidence to help you feel like you’ll reach your BIG dream. Remind yourself often that turning your dreams into reality is not a race — it’s a journey. Celebrate and enjoy your journey as much as possible. Above all, be kind to yourself through it — you will thank yourself later.
A couple years ago, I had the opportunity to be in the same room with five of the children who inspired the characters in my children’s empowerment books. It was a surreal experience. The children were gathered together to take part in an esteem-building workshop. The books I created, that they inspired, were resources in the program.
In that moment, I suddenly realized I had actually reached my dream. It quickly became apparent to me that the journey of reaching our dreams is the most memorable part. So enjoy each step as much as possible and make your dreams as big as your heart desires.
On the journey to reach the goals you set, you build yourself up. When you experience what you’re capable of first hand, you can’t help but continue to create goals and dreams. The road to reaching your dreams is the unfolding of your unique and beautiful life journey.
When you turn your ‘impossibles’ around, it has a way of opening up the world. Your expansive view will help you become aware of your limitless potential.
How might you move closer to the infinite possibilities in your amazing life adventure?
❤ Emily
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If you feel overwhelmed and would like more life-balance and happiness— come check out my ‘Fall in Love With Your Life, One Week at a Time’ book on kindle, or explore the different E-Course offerings on my Love Your Life School. It’s a space to create new habits of thinking that will help you fall in love with your life. ❤
Written by Emily Madill. Originally published at www.huffingtonpost.com and thriveglobal.com
