How to Make Your Dreams Come True
“A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dreams come true.”
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The new year is right around the corner, brimming with potential and opportunities. It’s a chance for a fresh start, new beginning, and pursuit of our wildest dreams. I know you have dreams. Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve allowed yourself to think about them… it feels selfish or indulgent, but if you dig way deep down, I know you have desires that you would love to see come to fruition in the next 12 months. We all do.
This time of year is when many people set out their New Year’s resolutions. However, the vast majority of these fail in the first few months of the year. In fact, studies show that only 9-12% of individuals who set New Year’s resolutions are successful in keeping them. I don’t want that to happen to you and your dreams. So, today I wanted to share some simple steps you can take to make your dreams come true.
1. Define the dream
You can’t make a dream come true until you know what it is. Take a few moments and think about what it is you’d like to accomplish this year.
2. Understand why
A key part of maintaining motivation is purpose. If your dream requires you to put forth effort throughout the year (and most of them will), you are going to need some motivation to keep you going when the going gets tough. Ask yourself why you want to pursue this dream. A helpful way to do this is using the “5-Why” approach. It’s as simple as it sounds. You state your dream and then ask yourself “why?” 5 different times. This helps you get to the root of why pursuing your dream is important to you. We’re all much more motivated to pursue something that matters to us, that feels meaningful.
You can design a life you love.
A life where work, family, leisure, and rest exist harmoniously.
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3. Go from “dream” to “goal”
Next you need to take your dream and infuse it with the secret ingredients of effective goals. The aim is to set SMART-ER goals. You’ve likely heard about these different characteristics of effective goals before, but if not check out episode 37 where I cover it in detail. For a quick refresher, SMART-ER goals are goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, results-based, time-specific, exciting, and relevant.
4. Write it down
Like the opening quote said, “a dream written down with a date becomes a goal.” So, in order to make your dreams come true get that pen and paper out and turn those dreams into goals. Research shows that simply writing your goals down improves your chances of actually achieving that goal. This occurs for a few reasons. First, writing goals down means that there is now a physical reminder of your goals existing in the world. A journal, planner, or sticky note that reminds you what you’re working towards. Second, our brains tend to pay attention to information that we’ve created ourselves. This is called the “generation effect”. Writing our goals down tells our brains that this is important and should be paid attention to. You can boost this even more by drawing pictures.
5. Make a plan
By now you should have a lot of clarity around the dream you plan to pursue.
But a well-written goal, even if it is on beautiful stationary, is not enough to make it come true. You’ve got to have a plan.
How do you come up with one?
You do one of my favorite things… you research!
Take yourself on a date to the local library and find 3-5 books related to your dream. Create a “dream board” on Pinterest and spend an hour or so pinning relevant pins. Follow a few experts in that area on Instagram. Find a new podcast dedicated to your dream topic. Digging into the information about your dream will help boost your excitement and give you some practical ideas of how to make it happen.
A key part of your research should involve finding some accountability. Research has shown that building in some accountability around our goals can help us be more successful; especially when we provide regular updates regarding our progress towards a goal.
6. Pursue the dream
Next you pursue your dream. What were the practical steps that you identified in your research? Ensure that you take action each day.
Will you miss a day? Yes, absolutely. You might as well just expect it. Life happens. We get busy. Something comes up. It’s inevitable. The important thing is that you try again the next day.
A few ways to jump back into the pursuit is to 1) remind yourself why you chose to pursue this dream in the first place and 2) incorporate goal reviews as part of your morning routine. This will keep them front and center and help you to refocus on them first thing each morning.
7. Celebrate along the way
Don’t skip this step. If you do, you’ll be sorry. Rewards are an important aspect of motivation. We know this intuitively. We reward our children with a special treat when they ace that math test. We put forth extra effort at work when we know that a promotion and pay raise are possibilities. Rewards can be just as powerful when it comes to working towards your dreams.
Pursuing your dreams isn’t just about the finish line. There is a lot of life that happens in between. You learn a lot along the way. You make mistakes, you pivot, you grow. And there is no reason that we can’t celebrate that!
Don’t wait to celebrate until AFTER you’ve reached some huge milestone. Celebrate each baby step along the way.
Remember, the ultimate dream is to live a life we love and it’s much easier to love a life filled with fun and celebration.
Is a better work-life balance one of your goals this year?
I’ve created a workbook just for you!
If you’re interested in creating a work-life balance characterized by simplicity, joy, and beauty, why don’t you start by checking out my Elegant Balance Workbook? In it, I help you define what work-life balance looks like for you and share some tips on creating that balance. I’ve said it before, and I’ll keep saying it – Balance doesn’t happen by accident.
What are you waiting for?
Let’s pursue our Elegant Balance together!
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We spend a great deal of time at work. Like Annie Dillard once said, “How we spend our days is how we spend our lives.” I encourage you to look around your office and see what steps you can take to add simple luxuries to your workday because in the grand scheme of things, they will add up and lead to a luxurious life!