Follow Your Dream

What is your dream?  What do you really want to happen, in your life, in the lives of those around you, and in the world in general?

Think about your answer to this very carefully.  This is probably one of the most important questions you have ever asked yourself, or ever will.

Set no limits here.  I haven't asked you "what difference can you make", even though that is a very important question too.  It is important to focus on making a difference, but when phrased that way it automatically assumes limits.  It invites you to exclude anything that you think is too difficult to achieve or that is simply not something "little old you" can achieve in this world.  So by all means dream of making a difference, but don't include the word "can" which also implies a whole area of "cannot".

There are so many ways to tackle the question "what is my dream?".  Try them out for size.  Explore them.  Apply them.

Many people answer the question confusing the "means" with the "end".  They may say their dream is to have a million dollars in the bank.  I am not criticizing this as a desire.  Despite what many may tell you there is nothing wrong with wanting a lot of money.  But think about WHY you want all that money.  Knowing the reason you WANT a lot of money will make it much more likely you will get it.  Money of itself is nothing.  It is what having it allows you to achieve that has real meaining.  And although I again say there is nothing wrong with money, sometimes when you focus on exactly what it is you want to achieve when you have the money you may find ways of achieving it without needing a million in your bank account!

Some people find their answer to this question by imagining they have been given a limited time to live and then focus on what is really important to them, what they want to do in that limited remaining time.  This is a good exercise.  Especially because actually it is very true.  You DO have a limited time to live!  There are not many guarantees in this life, but that is one thing I can absolutely guarantee!  You probably don't know when you are going to die, in fact I hope you don't.  But you do know that one day you ARE going to die.  So in the meantime, why live your life like a zombie, just doing the things you always do because you always do them?  Instead, live your life to fulfil your dreams!  Make a difference!

So, ask yourself that question.  What is my dream?  Or rather, what are my dreams?  Don't limit yourself to just one dream, unless you find it is so powerful and all-consuming that there is no room for anything else, and that by committing yourself to that dream you will become the happiest and, even more important, most fulfilled person you could ever be.

Ask the question, and then take steps to change your life so you are moving in the direction of that dream or those dreams.  Every step you take in that direction is a powerful, positive step.  One which should make you happier.  One which should make you more fulfilled.  Perhaps not the happiest person in the world, yet.  Maybe not the most fulfilled.  But happier, and more fulfilled, and that is the key thing.

And don't fall into the trap of confusing the means with the end.  Yes, some of what we do to fulfill our dreams will not create immediate results.  In fact, that applies to a lot of what we do.  But there will always be some steps you can take which WILL make a difference, even though it may be a small difference.  It is important to take those steps, as none of us knows when we are going to breathe our last breath, so make every day, every hour count.

Once you realize just how much of a difference moving towards your dream can make to you, to those around you, and to the world itself you will never want to stop that journey!  So get on board right now!  Your dream is beckoning to you!  Don't ignore it - follow it!

Deception and Imagination

Have you ever played a party trick on someone where you get them to walk along something very narrow and set them up so they think it is quite high above the ground?  Not at a deadly height, but maybe waist height or just above?  And not so narrow there is a strong likelihood they will fall.  If so, you will know that the way they walk is very different from how they would if they knew they were only a few inches off the floor.  In some cases they will refuse to walk across it at all, even if promised a reward if they do so.

Why is this?  As already stated, the width is not so narrow they are likely to fall, so why should they worry?  Why should some people walk very falteringly and others refuse to do it at all?

The answer is two-fold.  First, they have been deceived about the possible consequences.  They believe those consequences are that in the unlikely event they do fall they could hurt themselves.  Secondly, their imagination then takes over and puts all kinds of pictures in their head about those consequences.

Deception and imagination.  A very powerful combination that conspires to prevent all of us achieving what we really want to achieve.

For many people, this spells the end of their dream.  They decide that it is not worth risking suffering those consequences and they give up before they have even started.  For many others, they start anyway, but instead of stepping out boldly and announcing to the Universe that they are here and ready to reap all the benefits they begin the efforts in the same way as those tentative and stumbling efforts of the victim of the party trick.  What they are doing by being so tentative is making it more likely that they WILL fail.  And when they do, that inner deceiver will say "I told you so!", setting them up to be even more nervous they next time they try to achieve anything worthwhile.

I am not suggesting, of course, that you should ignore all the possible negative consequences.  For any new project, for any dream you want to follow, you do need to list all the pros and cons.  This will allow you to make an informed decision.  Certainly consider what you will do in each case of those negative consequences, so you are prepared for any likely outcome.  But then weigh up those pros and cons and don't allow all the negatives to put you off unless you logically reason this is not for you - at least not at this point in time.  And if the decision is to go ahead, don't allow the great deceiver within you to magnify those negatives.  Don't allow your imagination to dwell on them.  You have sensibly considered them but now your focus must be on the postive outcome.  That is the only way you are really likely to succeed and achieve your dream.