ARE YOUR DREAMS MOVING YOU FORWARD?

BY DIANE KERTH

Photo by Philipp Berndt on Unsplash

Having dreams (definition: a cherished aspiration or ambition) are important to have in our lives.  They can excite us, give us hope and direction.  Dreams can also cause us stress if they haven’t yet come to fruition. 

Last week a friend of mine said that it’s hard to “give up” on the dream she’s had for herself for over 10 years.  The language we use is so important.  “Giving up” can feel like failure and disappointment. Where is your dream today when looking at the options here: 

• A. I still plan on making this dream come true. (The key word is making – taking action. Awesome!)
• B. This dream needs to have the doors closed on it and I need to get comfortable with that. (Acceptance! It’s a healthy step for us to be able to move on)
• C. The dream from 10 years ago needs to be adjusted and will look different. I’m moving forward. (Adapting as we grow -Progress!)

Have you ever looked back and said, “Wow I can’t believe I am still at the same place I was last year!”  

Examples:

• You are still in the same job or position that you vowed, to yourself, you were leaving.
• Your health is the same or worse than last year.
• You have dreams of furthering your education, professional development or fitness BUT money, time, and other reasons have gotten in the way.

Make changes. Take Control.

The framework for making a dream a Reality! 

1. Have a Dream.  
2. Get more specific and write out a strong clear Vision. 
3. Determine your first Goal to achieve towards the vision.
4. Create a Plan for that goal.
5. Take Action on the plan. (follow through!)
6. Review every week how it’s been going and what has NOT been going well with the plan (we learn from both elements, our successes and our struggles)  
7. Make Adjustments and keep going.  A bad food day, a bad sales day, a bad negative attitude day does not mean that it’s a bad goal. The goal may be too big or too hard when first created. Adjust the goal so that it is achievable.                

For example: if you want to walk 10,000 steps a day but you miss it almost every day.  Adjust that goal and achieve 5,000 steps a day. It would be outstanding!  Increase it the following week to 6,000 steps then 7,000 steps and so on, until you get to achievement of 10,000 steps a day.  

Consistent attainment of smaller goals adds to our Confidence, Self-Esteem and Belief in our ability. We always want the big goals attained on the first try but usually it’s the attainment of smaller goals that gets us to where we ultimately want to be. 

Following a framework gives us CONTROL in making progress.  Start now by working towards the dreams you ache to have as your reality.  Freshen up a past dream, create a NEW exciting dream and follow a PLAN to achieving success!