We all have dreams. It’s part of being human. We dream of a career that is satisfying, a great marriage, change we want to see, ways we want to use our gifts, contributions to the world we hope to make, trips we want to take, books we hope to write, fitness goals to achieve, and on it goes.
A Dream Is Only A Dream
Yet, years can go by and those dreams continue as just that. A dream. Little, or nothing, has materialized of those dreams. Yet, we keep hoping. And dreaming.
Someday…
Somehow…
Sometime…
Believe me. I’ve done this. And then a year goes by, and another, and I am still carrying the same dream, still spinning it around in my head, with no real action, no real change.
Now, it is true that some dreams we need to hold in our hearts for the day when now is the time. For years I dreamed of taking our family on a big trip to Europe. Finally, there came a day when it really was the right time for that. I used to dream of flipping houses. It was a matter of timing. We can’t underestimate the impact of timing in seeing hopes and dreams fulfilled.
Yet, the other reality is that often dreams are not fulfilled because we simply have no plan.
Dreams Without a Concrete Plan Have Little Chance of Success
And with no plan, we disempower ourselves to do the thing we want to do. And we wonder why nothing ever works out for us.
Once the timing was right, we came up with a plan for how to get to Europe, and how to flip houses (which is also how we pulled off a trip to Europe).
There are whole books and seminars on how to identify your dream and then set goals and actions steps. While those are useful, I also know we can make things more difficult than they are.
Consider This Condensed Step By Step
- Think through, or write down, some of your dreams. Not sure you have any dreams? Listen for the thoughts that go through your head that you say, “no, I couldn’t do that” or “that’s unrealistic” or whatever. Every person I have ever talked to who says they have no dream, when probed it becomes evident that they do have a dream, they just disqualify it. Don’t do that.
- Check your fears, objections, and excuses at the door. These have contributed to way too many dreams going to the grave with still locked inside.
- Which dream is it time to start turning into a reality? Which dream could be brought nearer, out of the realm of someday, somehow, sometime, with a plan? I bet there’s one dream you could wrestle to the ground this year.
- Identify a next step (s) and a simple plan to keep taking the next step. Martin Luther King Jr. said,
Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just the first step.
I was talking with a friend the other day, and we were chatting about her current success in losing weight. She has a plan. She knows exactly what she will eat every day, she sticks to it, records it all, she knows what kind of exercise she will do, and how often she will do it. She does this every day, and then she gets up and does it all over again.
It’s working. She’s seeing her dreams for a better her coming true.
Dreams need concrete, specific plans to succeed. Also needed?
5. Commit. A plan without commitment is just that. A plan.
[bctt tweet=”A Plan plus commitment, and nearly anything is possible. ” username=”viaMarbleTracy”]
Your Dream Matters
Many people start the New Year off with hopes and dreams for this next year and beyond. I have. I am writing this to say that your dreams are good, they matter and are worth pursuing! You have a significant and unique contribution to make to the world. Pursuing your dreams is vital to that.
So, one of my hopes for this year is that we each find the strength we need to plan, commit and begin to see dreams wrestled to the ground. The world needs you, and my, dreams realized.
Photo by Martin Olsen on Unsplash