Be Careful What You Wish For
Attaining Your Goals and Achieving Your Dreams
One day you wake up and you realize you’ve been thrust into adulthood. You’re at the stage in life where you wonder, how the heck did I get here? For everyone it’s different. Wherever you are in life right now, you got here because of the path you took whatever number of days, weeks or years ago. You brought yourself to be right here, right now.
Achieving Your DREAMS
I’m not going to define what that means. What I believe it means is totally different than what you believe, and this is in no ways an in depth analysis or sketch on how to get there. I will give you some ideas here that can probably help you get what you want. If you don’t like the word dreams, call it whatever you want: achievementS, goals, wishes, or intents. The dream is something you want to get, do, or have in your future.
How Does That Work?
- Define it — define what you want to achieve. This may take some time and it’s a decision you make. Write it down. The dream could be buying a house, a car, finishing a career, traveling around the world, or some inner personal goal, but you need to decide what it is, you have to find out what it is you want, and if you’re ready to work for it.
- Make a dream board — This is my favorite part. Cut out pictures of your dream from magazines, or print them (in color) from the internet. Put the pictures up on your fridge, or paste them on a poster board or a bulletin board which you’ll place in your bedroom or office. Stick the pictures on your bathroom mirror, or just put them somewhere where you’ll see them every day.
- Work on it — now that you know what you want to achieve, commit. You have to work on it every day. You will need to focus on it, decide what steps you need to take to achieve it, and find the right medium or vehicle to get you there. It will not fall out from the sky and hit you on the head.
- Be still — This is something you will do once in a while. Depending on your personality you will schedule it, or if you’re not that obsessive, you will do it every now and then. Evaluate what you have done to achieve that dream/goal. I suggest you do it every three months. We all need that period of time when we have our life stand still for a moment. Today I told my son: Sometimes you just have to stand and look out into the ocean for a few. Just wait until the ocean comes back with an answer before diving into it. Don’t force it. The waves will come to you. Just wait and watch. He lives 20 minutes from the ocean, so for him that’s easy. If you don’t live near the beach, pick a special spot, it could be in your home or garden, a park, or near a lake, but find that special place for some alone time, where you can reflect. Reflect on your goals, where you’ve been, where you’re going, and when you think you’ll get there. This topic alone could take another post, but for now you know what I mean.
- Work some more- once you’ve reflected on your achievements, failures, shortcomings, and what’s left to do, remember to re-center back to the dream. Get back with the program, it could be a new game plan or just continuing with what you were doing, and sharpening the focus. Get to work.
You will achieve whatever you set your mind on. Think about it, how did I get here, to this point in my life? Now, think about it, did you ever imagine being right where you are? Yes, you did.
We all need that period of time when we have our life stand still for a moment.
Don’t be too Hard on Yourself
This process takes time. It will. It could be three years, five or ten, but you will achieve it. In my opinion, your unconscious brain will make it happen, one way or another. If you are one who prays and believes in a higher power, do that as well. But don’t risk derailing because you want it right away. Wanting it right away will create frustration and affect your outcome, plus it overtaxes your abilities and your potential. That’s when you start criticizing yourself and believing in your fears.
Remember the book “The Secret”? I do, but not because I read it. It reminds me of when I went on the bandwagon of “achieving your dreams” way before that book came out and became a best seller. In the 90s I read so many self-help books I lost track of the number. I also attended many a seminar and coaching session on “achieving your dreams.” Today that may seem cliché, but I did learn important information and skills. If you choose to go this route, make sure you evaluate the coach or program you decide on learning from. You can start right now by reading a ‘self-help” or an inspiring book and it won’t cost you a thing. If you live near a library, borrow one. Search for self-improvement, positive, or self-help books. Read every day, at least read one book a month.
The dream is something you want to get, do, or have in your future.
What works?
I will only speak from experience. I worked very hard at it. This is not only mental work, putting nice pictures up on the wall, reading positive and motivating books and expecting everything to materialize from thin air. It is actual physical and challenging work. You have to be motivated and and have the attitude of going out there to conquer the world.
I won’t tell you I got EVERYTHING I put on my dream board, but I came a bit close. I don’t have a million dollars in my bank account (I did not put that on my dream board, actually) but I do have the house I “dreamed” of. Over time some of my dreams changed. Currently I am happy, and feel accomplished in life, for the most part. I do have new goals and those I will achieve if “I set my mind to them,” and yeah, if I bring out that magic marker again and plaster all those pictures and messages on my ‘dream board.’
I will give you two personal examples. Long ago I remember sitting on the steps if front of my childhood home listening to the radio. I loved that radio, it was a gift from my grandfather to my sister and I. Every Saturday morning I used to listen to a Children’s Program on a local radio station. I even won a prize once because I called in with the answer to a question from one of the children’s stories they used to play. Long story short, as I sat there listening, I would daydream of being a radio announcer. You see, back then, there were very few female announcers, pretty much the only ones I heard were the ones on that show. But I digress. The thing is, fast forward about 20 years and I was… you guessed it! On the radio! Working as a radio announcer!
My other example is my house. I always had to rent, never could afford buying a house, much less the one I live in now. Getting this home with the large kitchen, decent square footage in a quiet neighborhood, did take about 16 years to achieve. But I got it. I had purchased a house before the one I have now, but this one is the one I had on my dream board. The one I got after a lot of work, dream boards, and patience. So yes, If you set your mind on something, you do eventually get to achieve it.
That elusive dream? You’re almost there…
There will be one day it hits you! It hits you so hard tears will stream from your eyes. You made it! You actually freaking achieved one of your dreams, and you didn’t even notice. So go out there! Find your dream, your goal, your secret and embrace it.
The secret, the actual secret, is you.
