Last updated on January 22nd, 2019 at 01:57 pm
We honestly never really know how much time we have left on Earth, so I am a firm believer in really going for it in terms of setting dream goals that make you reach, stretch and grow.
Of course, I’m also a fan of dreaming big dreams that are so much fun, that so resonate with your spirit, and that inspire you so much that you are excited to get up every day and move forward toward those dreams.
Be the person who turns “failures” into learning experiences, who considers taking a step forward followed by a step backward a cha-cha, and who keeps your spirits elevated in the face of adversity.
It helps me to remember that “Earth School” is a learning experience for every single one of us, and we are truly never done learning.
What steps could you take that will excite and inspire you to work on your biggest dream? When you get to the end of this year, what would make you feel razzle-dazzled and immensely proud of yourself?
Whether it’s a big career dream, a major health and fitness dream, an exciting love relationship dream, a big financial dream, a travel adventure dream, or some other big dream, commit to stretching yourself. And remember that the point isn’t whether you reach every single dream goal or not, but rather who you become while on your dream journey.
When you challenge yourself to stretch and grow to become the person you most want to be, you win, no matter what. Part of happiness is who you become while working on a big dream that sets your soul on fire.
Who Do You Want to Become?
I find a good place for getting moving on a big dream is to write down your dream goals. What the qualities you admire in your heroes and inspirations that you most want to emulate?
If we decide we want to be more adventurous, more courageous, more bold, more creative, etc. then we can actively do our best to practice living those qualities daily. There is no reason to wait until you have achieved a certain dream to become courageous–just practice moving forward in spite of your fears today (which is the definition of courage: feeling the fear and doing it anyway).
Author, blogger and life coach, Danielle LaPorte has a process she teaches called “Desire Mapping” which is all about deciding what feelings you want to feel. Again, the idea is to practice finding ways to feel those feelings every day, vs. waiting to achieve a certain goal or dream in order to be happy.
We so often forget while in pursuit of our big dreams that a happy journey is nothing more than a string of happy moments, and if we wait until we have achieved our dream in order to give ourselves permission to be happy, we spend a lot of time waiting and denying ourselves happiness.
What if your big dream idea is simply meant to supply you with a sense of direction, so you know where you are going, and how happy the life journey can be, every step of the way, and that it is up to us? What if it’s really that simple, and happiness is ultimately just a choice and a way of living?
I believe in that completely, because there have been times on my dream journey when I wasn’t choosing happiness and although my life looked good “from the outside,” I was miserable. At other times, my outer circumstances were nearly the same, but I radiated joy.
Honestly, it for me comes down to making the choice to be happy day after day. I realize that the circumstances of my life don’t need to be aligned “perfectly” in order to me to choose to be happy.
I can work on my dream goals and take a step forward at a time, and choose to be the woman I want to be each day. I can choose love and joy over and over and celebrate all the blessings in my life, rather than focusing on what I believe is lacking.
We all have the choice, daily to hang out either in gratitude or in lack. I find that I am much, much happier when I focus on what I have, vs. on what I believe I lack.
What Dream Makes Your Heart Sing?
Every year, a lot of us tend to write down the same dream ideas over and over. “Lose 20 pounds.” Or “Make more money.”
But do those dreams really inspire you? Is it possible the reason you haven’t achieved them yet is that they do not make your heart sing with joy? And as dream statements, they don’t really say a lot. A more exciting dream might be to learn to be a Salsa dancer and the side benefit is the 20 pounds you easily lost. Or you decided to join an investment group and learn to be an investor or you decide to get that college degree you’ve been thinking about–both could help you achieve the desire to “make more money” and they sound more enticing, don’t they?
What would make you ecstatically happy? Sometimes even just rewording our dreams can make a difference. Take the time to play with this and to define your dream in a way that feels inspiring.
I believe that now, today is the only time that is ever guaranteed to us. So it makes sense to take action now, today, on what matters most.
What you do today will determine the quality of your future, tomorrow.
How do you plan to make your big dream come true?
Lisa
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Lisa P. Graham is an inspirational writer, life coach, TED motivational speaker, and globe-trotter whose passion is to help others to find happiness and meaning in their daily lives. A political activist at heart, Lisa would like to empower more women to run for political office as a way to create positive change in the world. You can find her on her website or watch her TEDx speech on YouTube.
Note: Articles by Lisa may contain affiliate links and may be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on an affiliate link.
