Are you tired of the “rat race”…..the “status quo???”
Do you think it’s too late to pursue your dreams?
If your answer to these questions is a resounding YES; then stick around a bit and let me share the 5 Essential Steps you can take that will radically change your life!
STEP 1) IDENTIFY YOUR DREAM
Now that may sound a little silly at first, but ask yourself just a few questions:
Am I living my dream? Does my everyday life consist of doing things I love to do? Are my days filled with joy?
Did these questions get an immediate NO for an answer or did they provoke more puzzling statements, such as; “I have no idea what my dreams are. Those days are long gone??”
It’s OK! It’s not unusual to be going along on auto-pilot, just working to make a living and trying to survive? But that’s why you’re here, isn’t it? You’re tired of that! But we have to know where we want to go in order to get there, right?
There are numerous ways to help with this, but I like to keep things simple with this little exercise. Set aside at least 30 minutes and choose a comfortable, relaxing place. It could be somewhere in your home or if you have more time, it could be a bench at a park or in the grass by a lake. Wherever you can focus completely on you for a short bit. Then take out a pad and pen and use these questions below as a guide to help spark your creativity. GO!
Taking money and time out of the equation and create what you would consider to be a perfect day in as much detail as possible. Include sights, sounds, smells and touch to be as descriptive as you can. Use your total imagination. What time will you get up? What will you do next? What will you have for breakfast? What does it look, taste and smell like? What are you wearing? What color is it? What type of fabric is it? What type of accessories are you wearing? Are you working or retired or volunteering and what does that look like? Who are you with? What are you doing that fulfills your passions and brings you joy? Think about the thoughts and ideas you had when you were a child or teenager to help jog your imagination. What are your hobbies? What is it that you are really good at? What are your gifts and talents? Where are you living? In a house, a boat, a fancy RV? What does the landscape look and smell like? Do you like to travel and if so, where would you go, what would you do and who would you go with? Who are the people I’m surrounding myself with? What activity do you find motivating? What skills or training do you have, whether through education or experience?
Wasn’t that fun? Now that you have a destination, its time for the the next step. Give up the status quo to achieve your dreams. John D. Rockefeller put it this way; “Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.”
STEP 2) EVALUATE YOUR LEVEL OF DESIRE
Now, how bad do you want it ? It is critical to answer this question with the utmost honesty! The truth of the matter is that most people do not have a true desire to pursue their dreams or fulfill their purpose. And if you don’t want it badly enough, you will definitely not achieve it. To know if your desire will carry you through to the end goal, you have to have a strong enough conviction. That comes when you are able to answer the question of why? Why do you want to accomplish the dream you have just described above? What will it provide for you and those you care about? How will it change your life and the life of others? If your answer to this question causes an emotion that feels like a longing, or a yearning: almost an ache inside that would cause you to make sacrifices to attain it; then you may just have the desire that is required.
Your desire is what ultimately provides the drive, commitment and perseverance to do whatever it takes, to make it to the finish line. Its that thing that causes athletes to press on when every muscle aches, every breath hurts, and every fiber of their being is saying PLEASE STOP! It empowers you to take the necessary actions and overcome the obstacles on the road to success.
So what can you do to keep your desire strong enough to fuel the flames of motivation? One of the most powerful things that I find helpful, is to keep my goal constantly on my mind. To remind myself daily of the benefits of continuing on. To envision the reward I will ultimately reap.
It is also extremely important to focus on uplifting, positive thoughts that create hope. If hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of a positive outcome, then we should probably take a look at our state of mind and how our thoughts affect it. The Bible says in Romans 12:2….to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So we should ask ourselves, what are we allowing into our minds daily? Social media? News? TV shows, movies and books. Those are all fine unless they are filled with subjects of fear, anxiety and all kinds of hopelessness. Then they are not exactly a recipe to foster hope. Perhaps, we should be more intentional about what we watch, read and listen to. I have practiced this for quite sometime and the positive outcomes it has produced in my own life has caused me to be very mindful of this so I choose inspirational books, magazines, programs and even music that builds hope. My personal path is my trust in God, which I know affects my personal beliefs about hope, the desires of my heart and therefore my future.
As I nurture my desire, it will become a habit to the point that it will be a way of life that continually brings me to victory in every worthwhile endeavor. As Napoleon Hill stated, “The starting point of all achievement is desire”
3) BELIEF: MY DREAMS ARE POSSIBLE
Our beliefs about everything in the world around us, including ourselves originate from what we hear, and keep on hearing from others, ever since we were children. Our parents, or those that filled that role, and our environment played the biggest part in molding our beliefs from a very young age. We have derived thousands of beliefs that create automatic emotions and responses. Some of our beliefs are true and serve us well, when others have no basis of truth and only cause negative outcomes. For example; I have a friend that was attacked by a dog at a very young age. She is now in her 50’s and is deathly afraid of dogs to this day. Now, a life without a dog is not the end of the world to some people, but if truth be told and I repeated that statement to my sister, she would vehemently disagree! I’m seriously uncertain if she could survive without at least one furry friend:)
With that said, beliefs are the most powerful aspects of our life and control everything we do and say. They can cause us to limit our true potential or to thrive with confidence. They determine what we think is important or unimportant, right or wrong, moral or immoral, safe or dangerous, worthy or unworthy and so on. They are not necessarily true or factual, but we treat them as if they are. So that might provoke us to examine our beliefs to identify which ones are not serving us well and start on a path of replacing them for some.
I would like to quote C.S. Lewis when he said “You are never too old to set another goal or dream a new dream”. So why not start with these essential steps: 1) Identify your dreams, 2) Evaluate your level of desire and 3) Change your beliefs as needed to agree that they are possible. It is not something that changes overnight, but it will positively never change without taking the first step. As Zig Zigler put it, ” Success is not a destination, its a journey”. Why not get started today?
Stay tuned for more encouraging words and additional tools to help you turn those dreams of yours into reality!