If recent global events have taught us anything, it’s that life is short. Or at least, it can be. And that alone is enough to give us some perspective about what’s truly important. We realize that maybe our jobs are just income sources, that we really don’t make enough time for self-care or that we don’t prioritize our loves ones nearly enough. And dreams, I think, fall into this category as well.
Everything Changed
It’s easy to say it now, because we’ve seen a lot collapse over this last year. Not just jobs and schools, but social structures, plans, even just something as simple as going out to the mall on a saturday to window shop. But I think that’s part of why it’s important to look at this right now. They say we will never “go back to normal”, instead that we will come into a new normal. And I think we can all vaguely understand that point of view.
But as this new normal develops, as we’re getting back into the swing of things with more structured days and schedules and social obligations and expectations (because it’s happening, one way or another), we risk losing this perspective that we’ve garnered. All of these things that we “finally had time for” may somehow fall back on the end of our lists, where they found themselves initially for whatever reason. And I don’t want to see that happen to you guys.
Dreams
I’ve talked about dreams on this site before, but from a very different perspective. My last post about dreams was about how to begin the process of dreaming again, after living through some prolonged stress, crisis or tragedy. And some of you are in this place right now, I imagine. So if this is you, please go check out that piece by clicking here.
But there’s a different side to dreams, for the person who has them. And a lot of us, during this introspective, quiet, laying-low time have been dreaming. Dreaming about who we want to be in this world, about what we want in our life, and about what the future holds for us. And for those of you who were finding time during your indoor life to make progress towards your goals, or realized new dreams while sitting for too long on the couch, I want to talk to you.
Don’t let your dreams die.
Well, okay. It’s one thing to say that, but I don’t mean it so absolute. Your dream may die. You may realize you want to go a different way in life and all of a sudden it’s not your dream anymore. That’s okay. But don’t let your dreams die just because you didn’t nurture them and work towards them. Because that is the saddest thing of all. Sadder than abandoning an old dream for a new one. Even sadder than failing.
As so many of us have gone back to work and are making plans with friends and family, and finally getting the errands done that we couldn’t before, we’re going to find ourselves tempted to be pushed back into the cycle of eat, work, sleep. And our brains will follow those confines if we let them. Please don’t let them.
Your dreams are a beautiful part of who you are right now. They mark this time of your life, your experiences, your passions, your talents, and all the best things about you. And nurturing them, working towards them, helps bring your life a level of fulfillment and completion that is difficult to find otherwise. Your dreams are a priority, when it comes to your life. But it’s up to you to treat them as such.
“Okay, okay.” You might say. “You’ve reminded me. But what now? What do I to in order to nourish and prioritize my dreams?” Well, there are actually a lot of ways. I suppose infinite ways, as many ways as there are people, and dreams, and ideas. But let’s discuss some of the heavy-hitting ideas.
Working toward your dream
Obviously, if you’re going to achieve any goal, you need to work towards it. I think the things that most play into this work is firstly, understanding. You need to have some sort of idea about how you’re going to pursue this goal/dream. Now, it may start with just learning a skill. Like say your dream is to move to Mexico and live with your husband selling snacks on the beach. A good place to start would be learning Spanish. To actually live your dream, you’re going to need to take more steps than that. Like figuring out what you would need to sell concessions at a beach and actually moving to Mexico. But for now, you focus on one skill to build a base.
Every dream is going to require some form of planning. You don’t have to have every twist and turn mapped out-there are going to be things that happen by surprise, and you’re going to need to deal with them. But it’s important to have an idea of what all you need to get accomplished. A framework, if you will. And break each larger step down into little steps until you have a plan. It helps to have some sort of timeline for achieving each step of your goal, and to schedule your dream into your day.
You want to stay consistent with your work toward your dream, to make continual, though perhaps slow progress. Even slow progress adds up over time, as long as it’s consistent. So keep on cracking at your dream, bit by bit. Don’t overwhelm yourself all one day so you have no mental or physical energy to work on it the next. It’s your dream that you want to live, don’t burn yourself out, but make time for it on the regular.
Nourishing your dreams
And that brings us neatly to the emotional side of dreams. They need to be nourished and reaffirmed on a semi-regular basis. I wouldn’t say you need to be “motivated” to follow your dreams, because I don’t think anyone can stay consistently motivated for any long period of time. But you do need to keep inspired toward your goal, at least broad strokes.
Check in with yourself regularly when it comes to your dream. Maybe not every day, maybe not even every week, but think about it from time to time. Has your dream evolved? Do you want something slightly different or have new elements been introduced? It’s important to keep the big picture in your head, updated as it changes, or else the train might leave without you on it, emotionally speaking.
And remind yourself of your dream too. When it comes to working toward your goals, there are going to be a lot of moments where it feels less than exciting to put in the effort. You may be tempted to slack off, because you’re bored of going through these repetitive efforts, but this is how skills are learned and progress is made. If you can remind yourself during these moments what you’re doing this all for, you’re more likely to follow through even when it doesn’t seem exciting.
Let yourself dream
The other thing is, make time for the actual dreaming of it all, not just the action. Let yourself picture what life will be like when you’re living your dream. Journal about it. Tell your loved ones about it. Think about it as you’re drinking your morning coffee. This will build your emotional connection with your dream, your inspiration toward it, and your focus for it. It’ll also give you new ideas and perspective on things to include to help you down your path.
And never tell yourself that your dream is silly or stupid. Don’t listen to other people who tell you that either. When you follow your dreams, you glow with vitality. This is the best gift that you can give the people around you. Maybe you’ll even inspire them too.
So let yourself dream. Dream about big things and small. Use the little moments in between to work towards your goals with slow, but measurable progress. And don’t tell yourself your dreams don’t matter. Because your dreams are you. Of course they matter. You can still be the employee, the parent, the friend, the responsible independent member of society. Just remember to be and nourish that beautiful, wild side of you too, on the regular.
