Three Steps to Realize Your Dreams
What comes to mind when I ask about your dreams, goals, and aspirations? How clearly can you see these? Can you picture the daily behaviors needed to achieve those dreams and aspirations?
Humans are wired to crave growth and desire to evolve and improve. These desires to evolve and improve are your dreams. However, reaching for your dreams is easier said than done, for a couple of very simple reasons. You must be exquisitely clear on your DESIRED OUTCOME, and you must consistently install the NECESSARY HABITS to take regular steps toward achieving those outcomes.
Dreams = Desired outcomes + Necessary habits
Dream defined: a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal.
Let’s break this down into some practical steps you can take now to move toward realizing your dreams:
EXAMPLE: If I said my goal was to “be healthy” what does that mean, really? Think about what your dream really means to you. Really define it. For me, personally, being healthy has lots of layers, but an important part of it for ME was to kick the sugar habit. And the WHY for that was my family history of diabetes. So, in becoming clearer about my dream about health I honed in on “Be healthy by giving up all refined carbs and sugars to decrease my likelihood of developing diabetes like so many of my relatives.” This is very specific, measurable, and tied to a very important WHY.
EXAMPLE: Using the example from above “Be healthy by giving up all refined carbs and sugars to decrease my likelihood of developing diabetes like so many of my relatives.” The obstacles that were always in my way were things like…..Grabbing a sandwich is so easy for lunch…..cereal is my favorite quick breakfast…..pasta is such an easy and quick meal……etc. Sound familiar? When I removed those obstacles by thinking about what I really liked about them/why I “needed” them, and worked at finding suitable substitutions I was taking action steps to removing obstacles instead of sticking with the old convenient habits.
EXAMPLE: In my dream example from above – I stopped buying bread, I now eat my “sandwiches” as lettuce wraps and eat my burgers bunless, as the best, most flavorful part of the meal is the filling, not the bread (the bread was just the “delivery vehicle”. I stopped buying cereal and replaced it with quick grab and go protein filled breakfast options. When my family has pasta I serve my meat and sauce over veggies – veggies are now the “delivery vehicle” for the delicious part of my meal.
This goes for anything that you want to achieve. Find the necessary habit that will move you in the right direction, repeat it day after day, and you will achieve your desired outcome.
Now you try!
Grab a sheet of paper and use these questions to help shape your dreams…
- What is your goal/desired outcome?
- What is your WHY? Why is this outcome important to your life?
- Identify what’s holding you back….what are your obstacles?
- What new habits can you practice daily to make positive steps toward your goals?
