Do you believe that you can fulfill your dreams? Is it OK that you have a certain dream? Is the dream ‘too big’ for you to imagine it actually happening? Is there a dream from long ago still alive within you?
Many of us had dreams as children but lost touch with them as we became adults. We learned that very few of us actually get to “have” our dream. We are taught to believe that only those who are gifted, privileged, special, or supported get to have their dream–the Olympian, the rock star, the politician, the artist, the spiritual teacher… Are they the only ones to have their dream fulfilled? What about the rest of us? Don’t we get to have our dream too?
What if we can all have our dreams now, no matter how old we are, our level of wellness, or the “responsibilities” we have to others?
As a child, I had a dream of helping people grow and value themselves for who they really are. I didn’t know what I was supposed “be” because of that dream, yet I always found people coming to me for advice, and I had the ability to see into the heart of their problem. After several experiences where my dream of helping others grow was criticized or ridiculed by those in authority in my life, I began to keep it to myself. Over time, I stopped talking about it, thinking about it, or remembering it. Most of my life was focused on being successful in my various roles, and avoiding as much pain as possible in the process. Reaching for my dream meant the possibility of failure, frustration, and pain that I didn’t want to feel. Many of us have lost our dream this way.
What if the only thing between our dream and its reality is giving it our full attention and letting go of the limiting beliefs that don’t support it? Could it be that simple?
As I let go of my limiting belief of not being OK the way I am, my dream began pushing back into my awareness with renewed vigor and passion. It occurred to me that If no one else’s opinion about me matters but my own, then my dream is a wonderful way to express my authentic self. Why not have my dream? My resistance to the old pain fell away when I allowed myself to feel my feelings and decide what was true for me instead of buying into an old limiting belief. My old fear no longer stopped me from focusing and moving forward on my dream. (This is what had me launch BeliefWorks).
Becoming aware of the dreams that live within us is the first step toward living them in our lives.
What’s your dream?
If you really want to accomplish something you have to imagine it. You have to imagine how you will do it. You have to imagine what success looks like. Imagination is a gift that we are all born with. It is a tool we can use to envision what the future may hold. When we work with a team we engage in ideas, we plan, we strategize, and we talk about what if and why not. In truth, we can imagine dynamic change, innovation, creative engagement, and listening. We have a vision of where we want to go and what success looks like. It all started with our childhood gift of imagination.
We all have dreams. Many try to achieve them, and few succeed. Why?
The Dream must make you fly into the future, the future that you imagine, the future that belongs to you.
The Dream must burn inside, as the passion.
The Dream must be engaging: attract, excite, and have a project.
The dream is to be shared.
The dream is to be realized. Otherwise it will become only one regret. Will remain just an idea, that eventually fades, leaving only the bitterness of not having tried.
These are the five pillars that indicate why it is important to have a dream and why it is important to realize it. I believe that there is a sixth: the action. Whatever we want to achieve we must act, with perseverance and determination, to create good daily habits that bring us closer every day to the goal. It’s no use taking refuge in dreams and forget to live.