Making Dreams Reality

Dreams, wishes, hopes, bucket lists,  we all have them, what we want to be, achieve or experience.
As a coach I deal with this topic all the time of course helping people clarify what they want and then make plans to achieve it is kind of the meat and potatoes of my work. It is so satisfying to help someone go through the steps to define what they most want, develop plans, overcome the inevitable obstacles and make it happen.

However, it is often disconcerting how many of us have hopes, dreams and goals that we do not tend to or believe in consequently we treat them as "pipe dreams" and take no real steps to make them a reality. Many of us have great and exciting ideas for "someday" but no idea of how or when "someday" will happen.

Sometimes we do this because we have been told throughout our lives to be realistic, practical, responsible. We also have a culture that is largely negative and pessimistic, that values conformity, that loves to commiserate. Well intentioned friends and family often discourage the things that burn in our souls with the intention to protect us from failure or disappointment not realizing the lack of pursuing these things that mean the most to us means certain failure and disappointment of course.  Others that have let go of their own dreams discourage us as well out of their own bitter disappointment.

Many times we do not plan and pursue our hearts desire for logistical reasons most often a lack of resources. In truth though one can usually find a way with enough creativity, discipline and  effort to make almost anything possible.

We have many excuses internally and externally to not do what we want but primarily it is a choice based on several factors that in essence are clarity, belief, strategies action.

• Are you very clear on what you most want? 
• Do you believe you are capable and worthy to achieve or experience it?
• Have you made or are you willing to make solid plans with strategies to make it reality?
• How committed are you to taking the action required?

We all admire the folks we see that chose to live life on their own terms and follow their dreams. The banker that leaves it all behind to sail to the Caribbean, the folks that take sabbatical to serve others or to travel the world.

The 73 year old woman that completes the Boston Marathon, the single mom that hits it big baking cupcakes. I think we are drawn to them because we each have a piece of us that says, " I wish I could do that."

In actuality most of us can live this way, but there is a price to pay. We may let others down, we may fail, we may lose relationships , money, stuff, prestige, we may not even like what it is we seek once we achieve it. There is certain risk in pursuing your dreams and that is why most of us do not do it. It is difficult to change, to risk, to stray from the path others expect us to take. But what we fail to recognize is that there is more certain risk in not pursuing our dreams. Someday may not come, we will feel dissatisfied, we risk boredom, restlessness and the empty feeling we get when we know we have not reached our potential or been true to who we really are.

In the long run that is what is all about isn't it? Becoming all that you are, fulfilling what you are called to do, and living life fully. To do this we must ask ourselves what is most important and valuable to us individually and what we are really willing to risk.