Have you ever been told that dreams don’t matter? Or that they’re lame? Or that dreaming isn’t as important as doing? If so, it’s time to rethink that advice.
1. Dreams are expressions of your desires
Whether you call it a dream or a vision or a goal, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you know what you want. A lot of people don’t have a clue what they really want. They just go from day to day, walking through their lives with no real purpose. If that’s fine for you, carry on. But if it’s not, it’s time to ask yourself where you’re heading. Are you just clocking in each day on autopilot, or do you have a destination in mind? Get in touch with your desires for your life. Dare to dream.
“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined.” — Henry David Thoreau
2. Dreaming is not the same as daydreaming
There is a difference. Daydreams are fine. They can be a lot of fun. To me, the key difference is that you have to take action at some point to make your dreams real. Maybe you’ll get an intuitive hunch to follow up with someone, or show up someplace. Or you’ll decide to take that class, start that business, apply for that new job. Action has to happen somewhere along the line. When I decided to leave corporate, it would’ve been a daydream if I’d never made the decision and taken action. But I followed through and my dream became real.
“Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die, Life is a broken-winged bird, That cannot fly.” — Langston Hughes
3. It’s okay to change your mind
If you had a dream as a child to be a writer and instead you were led in a different direction, that doesn’t mean dreams are bad. You do get to change your mind. Nothing is set in stone. Maybe you admired someone and wanted to be just like them, and down the road, you realized that wasn’t likely.
So what? That doesn’t make you a failure. It doesn’t mean dreams are bad. Just be the best YOU that you can be. Dreams aren’t limited. You can always dream a new one if you want.
“Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete? Proving nature’s laws wrong, it learned to walk without having feet. Funny, it seems to by keeping it’s dreams; it learned to breathe fresh air. Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else even cared.” — Tupac Shakur, The Rose That Grew from Concrete
Being a dreamer does not negate being a “do-er.” They can be two sides of the same coin. Got a dream, a desire, a vision? Let that lead you to where you want to go. Take action and keep following your star. The naysayers have their own path to walk. Don’t let them discourage you from following yours.
