Dreaming into being

 

Can dreams come true?

 

Are you a dreamer? Do you have a long held thoughts and desires that you’ve carried around since childhood?  Or do you have something you’ve been hankering after in more recent times?

 

We all have them,

[bctt tweet=”whatever we call them – hopes, dreams, desires, secret passions – some of them we may have shared ” username=”SallyCanning”]

and others may be stowed away, hidden, so they never see the light of day ” – they are too precious – there’s the danger they could be judged as unrealistic, too far fetched – No, they are best kept where they are.  Only thing is, when we keep them locked away in our heads it makes it difficult to see what we could actually achieve, to figure out if we’ve moved towards or away from them, or even recognize they are attainable.

 

Daydream believer

 

When we’re little we might daydream of being a gymnast, a singer, a swimmer, and in recent months we’ve seen how those dreams have become real for our Olympic athletes, and even for the contestants who’ve been chasing their passion on a Saturday evening for the X Factor – Yes, I’ll hold my hands up to enjoying the talent, the drama, and the cringe making bits too.  I’m wondering how many of your dreams have come to fruition and when they did were they everything you hoped for?  Were they things you deliberately thought about? Did you chase them, or were they things that simply unfolded in the fullness of time?

 

In 1995 I had a dream.  I didn’t particularly see it as such but I saw news reports on TV that stirred such emotion in me that I sent out an intention to do something at some point.  I was caring for my partner who was terminally ill at the time and so of course all thoughts of anything outside the present moment were non existent.  My attention on those particular desires dimmed, or got pushed away, which ever, let’s just say I had other priorities in my life.  And then ‘out of the blue’ twelve years later came an opportunity to fulfill that far distant wish.  I had a choice – go for it and grab it with both hands, even though it required a degree of courage, or watch the vision drift by  – Well, you know a little bit about me by now – I don’t believe in looking to a gift horse in the mouth – so I went for it – and it changed me forever – You can read about how it happened here

 

And for you, this week I’ve compiled some ways in which you can start to identify what it is you’ve dreamed of, things you may like to experience and acknowledge your inner desires and wishes

 

1.  Your Great Big Dream List is a place to list everything you ever wanted to be, do or have – it can include possessions, personal character traits you’d like to develop, places you’d like to go, goals and intentions – anything at all you’d like to achieve, however big or small – sort of like a bucket list – you know, all the things you’d like to have done before you shuffle off this mortal coil.

 

There’s nothing complicated about this  – It’s best to make a little time and space for yourself – have a pen and paper – then go for it – allow your mind to free flow and spill out onto paper all the things you’ve ever wanted to do – anything and everything that comes into your mind – and dream big, it’s allowed.  You could break it up into the different parts of your life if you like – typically there are 7 areas – Family, Career, Finances, Relationships, Physical, Personal Development and Spiritual but this is personal so you can create your own.

 

The good thing is that you only have to do this once – you can keep the same list for years and years, making additions and changes and even deletions as you adjust your course and realize there’s something better than you originally hoped for on the horizon.

 

 

2.  From your Great Big Dream List you can start to create your Definition of Success – this is more of a considered exercise, it won’t be completed in one sitting – it’s something you can come back to on a weekly basis, which is good because you start to see what you have achieved in between times.

 

For each of  your dreams write down a brief description of what success looks like for you in that particular area and notice where your dreams are concentrated – Would having these things bring your life into balance, or do you have an uneven emphasis in particular areas – career and finances for example?  How would achieving those desires affect the rest of your life?

 

 

3.  Identify your passions.  What inspires, motivates and energizes you?  What would you do no matter what – even if you won the lottery and could afford to do anything or nothing at all?  What would you choose to do that ‘lights you up’? Think about this for each of the areas in your life. Then pick out three.

 

 

4.  Clarify Personal Values.  What is most important to you?  The non negotiable things.  The things you live your life by. Here’s a short list of values, you may well have others

 

honesty, competency, individuality, equality, integrity, responsibility, respect, dedication, diversity, enjoyment/fun, loyalty, credibility, honesty, inventiveness, excellence, accountability, empowerment, quality, efficiency, dignity, collaboration, empathy, accomplishment, courage, wisdom, independence, security, challenge, influence, learning, compassion, friendliness, discipline, generosity, persistence, optimism, dependability, flexibility

 

 

5.  Identify the Future You Dream Of.  Think in terms of your full potential.  Dream bigger than you ever have before.  What could be possible for you to accomplish if you stretched and  planned?  What would you like in the next 3, 5, 10 years.  What does your dream look like for each section of your life?

 

 

6.  Finally – Condense your answers into one or two paragraphs that give a clear description of what Success looks like for you.  Revisit it and tweak it.  When it feels right type it up, print it off, and use it as your guide and inspiration.

 

This gives you a firm grasp on what you really want in your life, (based on your dreams and passions), and why you want it, (based on  your personal values), and on how you can achieve it, (The future of your Dream).

 

Now, break it down – what little steps are you going to take to get you there?