How Can I Make My Dreams Actually Happen?
Setting goals is one thing; taking action to reach them is quite another. It’s time to get proactive about your passion…
If you harbour a secret desire to change careers, achieve a goal, or become an expert in your field, there are ways and means to make those dreams a reality. Narrowing down your passions and drawing up an achievable plan to help make them your reality already puts you ahead of the pack – many people don’t put in the time and energy to get even this far. From there, it’s all about persistence.
Follow these tips and tricks to find and fuel your own passions – it could spark the beginning of a rewarding and life-changing journey.
Follow these tips and tricks to find and fuel your own passions – it could spark the beginning of a rewarding and life-changing journey.
If all else fails, tune in to what you love doing and just do more of it. Who knows where it could lead?
Surround yourself with symbols of success
Once you’ve identified your passion, it’s time to progress it from an idea and enable it to take shape. Write down a list of why you want to achieve this dream and read it frequently – tape it to your bathroom mirror if that helps.
Create a moodboard with images of how you’d love your future to look. Hang an artwork that has significance to you and reminds you to keep on keeping on. Or change your home décor to reflect the person you’re about to become. What would the home of an artist look like? An entrepreneur? A world traveller? A success story with a healthy work-life balance…?
Once you’ve identified your passion, it’s time to progress it from an idea and enable it to take shape. Write down a list of why you want to achieve this dream and read it frequently – tape it to your bathroom mirror if that helps.
Create a moodboard with images of how you’d love your future to look. Hang an artwork that has significance to you and reminds you to keep on keeping on. Or change your home décor to reflect the person you’re about to become. What would the home of an artist look like? An entrepreneur? A world traveller? A success story with a healthy work-life balance…?
Do the work
There comes a time when you have to stop thinking and start doing. Knuckle down and do whatever it takes to get where you need to go.
There comes a time when you have to stop thinking and start doing. Knuckle down and do whatever it takes to get where you need to go.
The difference between people who succeed and those who don’t is largely persistence – sticking with it even when you feel discouraged; showing up consistently even when you seem to have hit a plateau, and being disciplined enough to keep going even when it’s the last thing you feel like doing – because most people don’t.
Check out an inspiring space that’s home office and craft room in one
Check out an inspiring space that’s home office and craft room in one
Don’t wait for the stars to align
Waiting until you have more time or the right studio/tools/headspace with which to pursue your goals is a surefire way not to achieve your dreams. Some of the best novels were written in less-than-ideal conditions alongside day jobs, so find ways to make your goals happen rather than finding excuses as to why they can’t.
Tip: Get up an hour earlier – time dedicated to your passion shouldn’t feel like work, and you might be surprised at what you can achieve in an extra five to seven hours a week.
Waiting until you have more time or the right studio/tools/headspace with which to pursue your goals is a surefire way not to achieve your dreams. Some of the best novels were written in less-than-ideal conditions alongside day jobs, so find ways to make your goals happen rather than finding excuses as to why they can’t.
Tip: Get up an hour earlier – time dedicated to your passion shouldn’t feel like work, and you might be surprised at what you can achieve in an extra five to seven hours a week.
Stay on track, no matter what
Open the door to opportunities that align with your vision. All this means is saying yes when it feels right to say yes, and learning to say no to offers that are likely to lead you to stray from your path. Most of us need to make money while we’re pursuing our dreams, but try not to take on work that eats up all your time and energy – a dull job that pays the bills is often far more valuable.
Tip: Create a spot in your garden that you can escape to each day for five minutes of me-time. Spend it visualising what it will feel like when you reach your goal. Sports psychologists have long recommended visualisation to elite athletes as an effective way of upping their game and achieving desired results, so it makes complete sense for us to employ the same tool.
Discover how to feel better about your late winter garden
Open the door to opportunities that align with your vision. All this means is saying yes when it feels right to say yes, and learning to say no to offers that are likely to lead you to stray from your path. Most of us need to make money while we’re pursuing our dreams, but try not to take on work that eats up all your time and energy – a dull job that pays the bills is often far more valuable.
Tip: Create a spot in your garden that you can escape to each day for five minutes of me-time. Spend it visualising what it will feel like when you reach your goal. Sports psychologists have long recommended visualisation to elite athletes as an effective way of upping their game and achieving desired results, so it makes complete sense for us to employ the same tool.
Discover how to feel better about your late winter garden
Take it one step at a time
Make a step-by-step plan and accept it won’t be an obstacle-free path or one that necessarily travels in a straight line. Keep your eye on the prize, enjoy the journey – challenges and all – and just keep swimming.
Make a step-by-step plan and accept it won’t be an obstacle-free path or one that necessarily travels in a straight line. Keep your eye on the prize, enjoy the journey – challenges and all – and just keep swimming.
Avoid burnout with balance
Playing at achieving your dreams is dramatically different from putting in dedicated and consistent effort, but be sure to temper your hard work with some downtime and fun. It’s a great way to recharge your batteries.
Playing at achieving your dreams is dramatically different from putting in dedicated and consistent effort, but be sure to temper your hard work with some downtime and fun. It’s a great way to recharge your batteries.
Seek out a mentor
Figuring it all out on your own can be tough. If there’s someone who’s already forged the path you’d love to tread, reach out and ask for guidance. At the very least, read the autobiographies of people you admire and follow them on social media – you’ll soon realise they’re regular people just like you and me.
Tip: Set up a reading nook at home and make it a tech-free zone. It’s too easy to lose time scrolling, browsing and emailing when you could be concentrating on making progress.
Figuring it all out on your own can be tough. If there’s someone who’s already forged the path you’d love to tread, reach out and ask for guidance. At the very least, read the autobiographies of people you admire and follow them on social media – you’ll soon realise they’re regular people just like you and me.
Tip: Set up a reading nook at home and make it a tech-free zone. It’s too easy to lose time scrolling, browsing and emailing when you could be concentrating on making progress.
Celebrate your wins
Always looking forward can prevent you from enjoying the present, and from acknowledging how far you’ve already come. Reward yourself when you reach noteworthy milestones – another benefit of crafting a step-by-step plan that puts those milestones on a map.
Rewards can come in any form you like – fresh flowers from the market, a champagne picnic, a midweek outing to the cinema with or without a friend. Whatever feels like a treat is a worthy reward.
Tell us…
Do you have a dream you’d like to pursue? Or have you already taken the plunge? Share your hopes, tips and experiences in the Comments section.
Always looking forward can prevent you from enjoying the present, and from acknowledging how far you’ve already come. Reward yourself when you reach noteworthy milestones – another benefit of crafting a step-by-step plan that puts those milestones on a map.
Rewards can come in any form you like – fresh flowers from the market, a champagne picnic, a midweek outing to the cinema with or without a friend. Whatever feels like a treat is a worthy reward.
Tell us…
Do you have a dream you’d like to pursue? Or have you already taken the plunge? Share your hopes, tips and experiences in the Comments section.
This isn’t always as easy as it sounds. One way to figure it out is to ask yourself a few questions. What did you love doing as a child? When you’re on holiday and at a loose end, what do you find yourself doing or dreaming about doing? What would you willingly do without being paid to do it?
How would you love to spend your days – engaging with like-minded people, or on your own with the space and time to create; lending a helping hand to those in need, or absorbed in a life-changing project? The options are endless…