Dreams Are A Journey
By Susan Knight | Reflecting on the journey toward achieving your dreams and tips for success.
Written by Susan Knight | Seeking Veritas Columnist | Sankarsingh-Gonsalves Productions.
“Dreams are a journey, not a far-off destination,” says Vernon Hiller, a passionate goal-setter, personal growth advocate, and retired District Chief with the Toronto Fire Services. He describes how that journey starts “with a single step forward, and your sense of accomplishment is your reward. Embrace that feeling to help you continue up all the other steps.”
Vernon offers the following seven tips for success as you work toward achieving your dreams. My sincere thanks and appreciation to him for graciously authorizing me (and trusting me) to elaborate on his tips with my own thoughts.
1. Dream Big. Don’t let yourself be restrained by what society tells you is possible. Go after what excites you and set your sights on it with laser focus.
Genuine excitement and enthusiasm for what you’re pursuing is energizing. It emboldens you to take risks and try new things; and strengthens you to persevere through challenges and setbacks. Add in laser focus, and you’ve got a powerful foundation to build upon, even if you encounter a few naysayers along the way who aren’t on board.
Speaking of naysayers…
2. Steer Clear of Negative Voices. Both from the outside, and those from within.
There are countless reasons why people close to you might not be wholly supportive of your endeavours. They may have a limited view of what’s achievable based on their own beliefs. Or perhaps they’ve constructed an image of you that prevents them from seeing all that you’re capable of doing and becoming.
When someone else is unable to see your potential, that’s typically rooted in who they are and what they’re projecting onto you. Fortunately, whatever the reason for someone else’s beliefs and perception, there’s no need for you to adopt it as your own.
Pay attention to your inner dialogue as well. Make sure whatever you’re telling yourself aligns with what you want to achieve, and who you need to be to achieve it. Remember: you’re not beholden to any of the messages currently floating around in your head at any given moment. You can question those messages. You can disagree with them, reframe them, and replace them with new, more constructive messages.
3. Visualize your dream every day, and feel how exciting it will be to live it.
There’s enormous power in visualizing your dream, especially when you allow yourself to feel all the emotions associated with it. As you imagine a scenario in your mind, your brain doesn’t differentiate between past, present, or and future states. That's why thinking about a significant event from the past can elicit a physiological change (e.g.: a change in heart rate) in the present.
When you engage all your senses to visualize your dream in detail, your brain processes the experience as if it’s happening in real time. You actually start to alter your brain chemistry to reflect the scenario you’re imagining!
4. Never compare yourself to others. It will rob you of your joy and motivation.
We all have different starting points in life; and we each encounter a unique set of opportunities and challenges as we carve out our path. Add in personal values and priorities, personality and temperament, and a unique combination of strengths and weaknesses, and it’s obvious one person’s journey won’t be identical to anyone else’s.
Along with robbing your joy and motivation, comparing yourself to others does nothing to promote a healthy, stable, well-grounded sense of self-worth. Meanwhile, it distracts you from your journey, causing you to miss out on potential opportunities right in front of you.
5. Take courses, talk to those who are experiencing it, and educate yourself on what to do and learn in order to achieve your dream.
Upon hitting a roadblock and becoming discouraged, it’s easy to assume there’s some inherent flaw or deficiency holding us back. In reality, that’s not the case at all. The real issue is that we simply aren’t equipped with the knowledge, tools, resources, or support we need.
Author and career coach Barbara Sher said isolation is the dream killer, and it’s true. When you reach a point where you’re stuck, that’s not an indication your dream is hopeless, nor does it mean you’re incapable; you just need the right encouragement, guidance, and input to go forward.
6. Start today. Journal your progress, write down questions, contacts, and learnings. Follow up on coincidental encounters.
Through writing, we’re able to organize and crystalize our thoughts, brainstorm ideas, note developments, and track progress over time. The particular format you choose for writing doesn’t matter nearly as much finding an approach that fits your personal style and how you like to express yourself, so you can document your thoughts and ideas regularly.
7. Enjoy the ride. Half the joy of setting and reaching for a dream is found in the personal growth you experience while moving towards it.
Allow yourself to enjoy the process of learning, growing, changing, and maturing as a person as you pursue your dreams. Savour those moments when you discover something new about the world, or about yourself. Celebrate when you overcome fear and doubt in order to do something for the first time, no matter how trivial or inconsequential it may seem. And cherish the people who believe in you and support you along the way.
About the author: Susan Knight | SGP Featured Writer | Contact the author: @ http://skfreelance.com
Susan is certified health and wellness coach with a focus on personal growth and inner wellness. She was a regular contributor to Social Work Today Magazine and is a featured Health & Wellness Columnist for SGP.
Thank you Susan for taking my points and expanding on them in such a caring and meaningful way. Your sensitive nature and insightful thoughts combined perfectly with each of my points and broadened the messages I was trying to convey. I'm humbled that you felt drawn to my post and grateful that you took it and made it so much more.