How to Live the Glass-Half-Full Approach to Dreaming Big

Last updated on July 7th, 2019 at 10:13 pm

I strive to live by the glass-half-full approach to dreaming big. From remaining confident my dream will come true to counting my blessings for my life as it is right now, I focus on what I’ve accomplished on my dream journey.

But let me be honest here, all big dreamers run up against periods of time where the dream journey feels like it’s running on a glass tank of half empty hot air.

Your big dream to-do list may vastly eclipse the available hours in a day. Your energy level may fight with your will to take your dream to the next level. Your kids may seem like they are suddenly possessed by alien monsters sent to destroy society (and they’re winning). A pet-related emergency may have just annihilated your budget. You may make nothing but silly mistakes. You feel tired.

And as such, your big dream glass feels half-empty.

Well, guess what? I have some advice for refilling that glass and getting you confidently back on your dream journey.

5 Ways to Live the Glass-Half-Full Approach:

1. Acknowledge Your Glass-half-full Thinking.

I mean honestly accept that you are looking at your current situation as “less than.” Curse your situation out. Agree that it’s all a piece of crap. Then when you are most frustrated, turn it around and be grateful you have a life worth feeling crappy about. Every day that you wake up, you are blessed with a chance to change things for the better. Life is short. Your dream journey will take many sideroads, encounter dead-ends and feel like you are traveling in circles. So accept those times your life feels half full, but be glad that you have a life and another chance to work towards your big dream.

2. Remember What You Once Dreamed Of.

The sound of children running around the house like wild animals can drive you insane. At some point, you dreamed of having a life with children underfoot. Sure, your dream family scenario didn’t include screaming, exhaustion and emergency vet trips. But it is something you once dreamed of, and that makes your current unexpected dream experience appear half-empty when actually it is a glass-half-full dream moment. Celebrate it!

3. Embrace the Current Moment.

You merely have to survive this moment in time. All too often, we set our dream expectations ridiculously high as to how we expect it to look. When the dream isn’t living up to the vision we’ve held, we feel cheated–like our glass is half-full. Expecting your dream to be perfect is not how the real world works. Embrace your glass-half-empty moments means you are living the dreamer’s journey. Look up at the heavens, say a gratitude prayer, take a deep breath, and try and look at this moment in time as another step forward in your dream journey. Nothing is ever perfect. Perfection is boring, anyway.

4. Take One Minute to Set Your Day.

When you first wake up in the morning, take one minute to cheer yourself on and say: “Today you’re going to do your best! You’re going to take one action towards your big dream!” Change up your routine. Turn on music instead of the TV. Refuse to look at social media for the day. Notice the beauty that surrounds you wherever you are and take one brave step toward your big dream. You can do it!

5. Forgive Yourself.

Forgive your dream journey for not looking quite like you pictured. Then forgive yourself for feeling like nothing is going your way. If a toddler became frustrated trying to accomplish a task that their little body isn’t ready for, you wouldn’t shame them. You’d hug them, tell them they’re enough, and that they can try again tomorrow.

Hug yourself. Tell yourself you are enough. Try again tomorrow. Half-full or half-empty, you can handle your overwhelming dream journey at this moment in time. Even if “handling it all” merely means going to bed early.

A good night’s sleep is most definitely a glass-half-full approach to dreaming big.

Especially when you are a mom.

Iman Woods