Three Simple Ways to Start Making Your Dreams a Reality
“Believe it to see it.”
~Danielle LaPorte
1. Decide that it is possible.
When you look at your life right now, what you are dreaming about may seem far-fetched or unachievable. But, the first thing you have do is believe that IT IS POSSIBLE. If you don’t believe it, you will never see it. I have this posted near my desk: “Believe it to see it.” I revisit this quote when I start to feel hopeless, overwhelmed or drained. I look at what I’m thinking that is making me feel like I can’t achieve my dream and I write it out. Most of what I’m thinking isn’t true, it’s a story that I’ve made up about my CURRENT circumstances. You cannot continue to focus on where you are. THE FOCUS MUST BE ON WHERE YOU WANT TO GO. Or, like the proverbial groundhog’s day, you will continue to live the same day over and over again. So, DECIDE. Are you in or are you out?
2. Learn to say NO.
I have serious FOMO (fear of missing out). In this age of social media and opportunities galore, we have options. A lot of them and we have forgotten how to just say no, thank you. When I started getting serious about writing, I also had to get serious about fashioning my life around what I said was important. I had to learn to say NO to some things in order to make progress on my dream. It meant turning down weekend plans sometimes or not being available to binge-watch Netflix. It meant getting serious about what I said I wanted to do. Making your dream a reality, will entail some difficult decisions. It will mean that you are going to have to decline plans, be self-disciplined, and keep the end in mind always. Heck, I might have been saying no back then, but NOW I’ve written a book. It was worth the sacrifice. Trust me on this.
3. Live by a schedule
If you aren’t in the habit of living by a schedule, then you should get into the habit. I formerly thought that scheduling everything meant the LOSS of my freedom. In fact, it WAS my freedom. But that’s only part of it. You can schedule every minute of your life, but then you have to SHOW UP for what you have scheduled. Therein lies the problem with most people. I used to be one of those people. I would come up with any excuse not to sit down at a blank page to write. Fear is the creator of excuses. We will come up with a million reasons why we can’t do a thing. But, in my experience, it all boils down to FEAR. I learned how to schedule my life and show up for what I said I would do, fear and all. The more times I did it, the more trust I built with myself. You can’t imagine how proud you will be when you consistently show up for yourself. You will also be shocked at how much you can actually get done.
