Dreaming costs nothing, but turning dreams into reality is a whole different ball game. Trust me I know. After going through a tough year last year, dealing with various illnesses and deaths in my family, I started this year off determined to live the life of my dreams.
The beauty of dreams is that they can be as far fetched or as practical as we want them to be. Based on last year’s ups and downs, my dream is to lead a loving, long, happy, healthy life, where life happens for me, not to me. With that in mind, I knew I had to make some changes to make this dream a reality. So I looked at what I needed to change – from my eating habits, to going back to meeting my vital needs, to working smarter, not harder – using the following criteria.
5 Steps to Turning Dreams into Reality
- Be as specific as possible. Dreams will always feel out of reach if we don’t take time to flush out what it will take to reach them. That’s why we have to go beyond just dreaming about what life could be, to actually figuring out the steps we need to take to reach them. This is where being as specific as possible helps.
- Get organized. Gather all your resources in one spot and make a manageable action plan.
- Make it a priority. Depending on your deadline, do something daily/weekly/monthly that gets you closer to your dream.
- Keep tabs on your progress, but don’t beat yourself up. Based on your ultimate deadline, set smaller deadlines for yourself and make it a point to again take note of any progress, road blocks, or shifts that need to take place. If road blocks continue, then it’s time to get more specific, not time to quit or get down on yourself. Change is hard, and dreams, whether you realize it or not, are all about change. They’re about pushing ourselves beyond where we currently are, to bigger and better. So do yourself a favor – believe in yourself wholeheartedly, be grateful for where you are now, and surround yourself with positivity. This combination will do wonders in allowing change and all that is good, to enter your life.
- Be prepared for success. Remember, this is what all the work was for, being able to turn your dreams into reality. Don’t let fear stop you once you’ve met your goal(s). Your hard work deserves to be showcased and recognized. Let your light shine!
For me that manifested in the following.
Eating Habits
If you follow along you know that I’ve been on an intuitive eating/clean eating journey. However dealing with various autoimmune diseases personally and in my family, I now also find myself on a paleo journey. As with every shift in my life though, I’m not diving in head first. I’m dipping my toes in one at a time, eliminating foods bit by bit. It’s the only way I know to keep me from binging on all the bad stuff I’m supposed to be eliminating from my life. Yes, it’s a slow process, but it’s what I know works for me. And slowly but surely, I’m starting to feel the effects of my autoimmune diseases go away.
Vital Needs
Vital needs are those things in life that you need met in order feel fulfilled. It can be anything from getting enough sleep, to getting some quiet time to yourself, to getting recognized for your efforts. When I did an internal introspective on my vital needs, I realized I need to be around people, moving, learning something new. I didn’t get enough of this last year. So when the year kicked off I made it a point to add a lot of this back in my life. I’m now hanging out more with family and friends, and have even joined a dance group that meets a couple of times a week to dance. This, combined with the changes in my eating habits, have naturally brought back my energy levels. Talk about finding your happy place again!
Work Smarter, Not Harder
Now that my health and happiness are aligning, I want to find ways to bring my passion for happiness, love, laughter, health & welllness to other mediums, beyond the written word. Since it’s not something I’ve ever done before, I’m not taking it on alone. Instead I’m spending some time investigating what other mediums make sense and reaching out to partners who can help bring this vision to light. It’s an exciting journey and I’ll definitely keep you posted on what I find.
As you can see, turning dreams into reality isn’t as far fetched as we sometimes make them feel. With a little prep and determination, we can make all our dreams come true.
Cheers to turning dreams into reality!
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I’ve been working on my goals for awhile but I really kicked it up this month doing Whole30 and training for a half marathon. I’ve already lost 10lbs this month!
OMG Lisa, you are doing so good and I totally need to look into Whole30…I think I need some regimented guidance on my dinners and weekends to keep me on track. Thanks for keying me in 😉 Can’t wait to keep up with your progress!!!