One of the most common pieces of advice that people give one another is to follow your dream. If you admit that you don't know that you have a dream to follow, then the advice is to discover one. The thinking seems to be is that everyone ought to have a dream, and to pursue it with vigor. The Bible says that "Without a vision, the people perish". What I think that means is that if a person doesn't have a dream to hold onto, or a goal or objective to strive for, then they're not really living. Odds are that you DO have a dream, perhaps something that you wanted to do when you were young. If you think that you don't have a dream, you must've forgotten the dream you once had. At the risk of repeating a cliche, if you think that you don't have a dream, then discover one.It's alright to dreamOftentimes, we abandon our dreams because someone somewhere told us that our dream was foolish or unrealistic. No one wants to hear that. We subconsciously want people to get caught up in our dream -- to support it. When we hear people make disparaging remarks about them, we start questioning ourselves. Perhaps our dreams are impossible. Perhaps they are foolish. In order to avoid being labelled as a fool, we abandon our dreams. We hide them away and eventually forget about them.It's time to dig it out from where you buried it. If you feel as though your life is going nowhere, if you're just existing from one week to the next, from one paycheck to the next, from one set of vacation days to the next, then it's time to dust off your dream and pursue it! If you keep thinking that something is missing in your life, you're right. There is. Your dream is missing. It's calling out to you. Follow your dream! How do you rediscover it? And if you're certain that you don't have one, how can you come up with one? Ask one simple question. If you can imagine that you cannot fail, and that money is no object, what would you want to be doing? Odds are, that's where your dream lies. One of the drawbacks to growing older, is we tend to worry about things like money, and finances, and possible failure. This is normal and reasonable. As we acquire more responsibilities, like a spouse and a family, or a mortgage, or consumer debts, we're forced to think about practicality. But practicality is a dream-killer. We have to believe that we cannot fail in achieving our dreams, or, at the very least, that it won't matter if we do hit temporary setbacks. We have to believe that we won't find ourselves financially strapped if we make a genuine attempt to achieve our dream. Suspending our need for practicality will allow us to not only dream, but to dream big. Don't self-criticize your dreamNo dream is better or worse than another. Your dream is your dream. It's a very personal thing. Comparing it to the dreams of others is wrong. Their dreams are theirs, not yours. Your dream is the one that comes out from within you. It's tailor-made just for you. Trying to pursue someone else's idea of a dream will never be satisfying or fulfilling to you. You have to pursue your own dream. If you spend time criticizing it, then you'll end up burying it in your backyard once again. Don't do it! It's a dream-killer.Be patientDon't expect instant results. No dream worth pursuing can be done with a wave of the hand. A dream isn't a magic trick (unless of course your dream is to become a magician). It takes time and energy and effort.Dreams aren't always simple and straightforward. In fact, they're usually complicated and confusing. Once your dream comes to mind, examine it. Expand upon it. Figure out the steps you need to take in order to reach it. Plan out your dream, and slowly, inexorably, move towards achieving it. It'll take time. All good dreams take time. Find the path to your dream, then start that journey. You'll quickly discover that life is worth living once again. If you're going to dream, you might as well dream big. Happy dreaming! |