I’ve been encouraged to Dream Bigger. This isn’t going to be easy for me. You see, I’m 80+ years old, just starting out on a new career and pretty much settled into my life.
It’s a trap that too many of us fall into as we travel through life. My days on earth are numbered and in my mind, I don’t have enough time to make any new dreams come true. But truth be told, just sitting here telling myself I don’t have time is wasting what time I do have. No one knows when the end is coming and too many of us spend too much effort and thought trying to outguess the One who truly knows.
So what next?
So, although I haven’t yet come up with My Bigger Dream, I have been giving it thought. I guess all the cliques come to mind the easiest; Spend more time with my family. Enjoy the few friends I still have left in this world; find enough money to live comfortably. Buy an occasional lottery ticket (even though it seems if I didn’t have bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck!)
We’re doing a study on prayer and last week, we were asked to make our bucket list. Just like my Bigger Dream, it was hard for me to get more than a couple of items for my “to do” list. I think the lesson I’m learning here is that I truly need a mindset change. Time to work on that, obviously.
OK, since I haven’t started dreaming yet, I have been looking into steps that I can take to make progress. As usual, the internet and Mr. Google is my go to and here are some of the suggestions I found.
Make an investment, invest in “Dream Time”.
Seems pretty obvious; you can’t have your dream come true if you don’t have a dream. Don’t think of it as wasting time. It will be time well spent. And write the dream(s) down. Make them as big as you can imagine! And be courageous. That may sound strange, but don’t be afraid to DREAM BIG!!! When fear comes knocking, face it and acknowledge it.
Strip down your goals!
“Why” is a big help here. Keep asking why until you get to the real reason for the goal. Want more money? Why? What will more money do to help get to your dream. Need more time? Why? Do you need to spend more quality time with those you love or to rebuild relationships? Peel away the layers of superficial fluff and get to the nitty-gritty.
Make a commitment to your dreams.
Just a few. You don’t have to tackle them all at once. Make yourself a “Dream Board” and get creative with it. Post-it notes as ideas come up are oh, so handy. Clip pictures to add to it. Put up articles from magazines or the internet that spur you on to dreaming even bigger. And don’t hide it away. Let the family and friends know. You’d be surprised how many ideas they can give you along the way!
Set your boats on fire.
Back in the 1500s when Hernan Cortez led his army of men in a conquest of Mexico, he ordered that the boats they arrived in be burned. Talk about commitment.
Make you Bigger Dream bite sized
No one wants to try to swallow that 12 ounce steak. Make the development of your dream bite sized pieces. No, don’t dream less, just make attaining the dream a little more manageable. Set little goals that can be achieved step by step without the possible burnout from taking on too much at once. And set yourself realistic deadlines. That accomplishes a couple things. It challenges you to meet the deadline and it helps you measure progress. That leads me to the next idea.
Dream Bigger but steal a little!
Don’t feel guilty about a little stealing here and there. There’s no need to completely reinvent the wheel. Others have had the same dream and the same challenges and if they’ve been successful in attaining the dream, don’t hesitate to use some of those same techniques that have a proven track record. Study what they did that can help you achieve your dream and discard those ideas that won’t work for you.
Got to Do the Work to Dream Bigger!!!
You have your bite size pieces laid out, now make sure that you’re taking the steps that will actually help you attain that goal. Before you take an action, be sure to ask yourself the question, “will this get me closer to my goal”. Hey, be truthful here; no lying to yourself just because you either really want to take a step you know won’t help or you really don’t want to take this next action step. If the answer is yes, go for it. If the answer is no, get back on track. And work on this everyday to keep your focus. If something has to happen before you can take the next step, review where you’ve been and what adjustments need to happen.
Reward yourself.
If you’ve ever been on a diet (and I’ve been on many), you know that the plan will tell you to reward yourself. When you reach a milestone you set for yourself, stop and smell the roses you bought for yourself. Give yourself a pat on the back or a high five with the mirror. It was tough getting here, so celebrate!
Don’t be a Loner!
I mentioned it earlier with the dream board. Let others know what you’re trying to attain. Don’t go it alone. It will affect not only you but those around you. Let them know what’s happening, the progress you’re making, the challenges you’re facing. Let them encourage, support and, when necessary, hold you accountable.
And keep pushing toward your goal. Don’t give up on your dream. There will be days and weeks and maybe even months when you don’t see any progress. The last thing you want to do is give up and lose your dream. Persistence pays off in the end. The Bible even encourages persistence in living a life of fulfillment.
Dream bigger! You just might surprise yourself.
Okay, I know what I need to do now so let me get started with the first step; Dream time!
My husband and I have been blessed in many unexpected ways, especially in being able to do some world traveling. Especially since we both grew up during and just after the depression. Both of our families suffered greatly. It was so bad that my grandfather had to pay for my brother’s funeral. Can you imagine the heartbreak and embarrassment my parents must have felt!
Dream #1. So anyway, we’ve been to Germany and Austria, Greece and Turkey, Great Britain, Canada and Mexico plus numerous states in the good old USA. Two places I still would love to visit (well, 3 actually) are Switzerland, where my great grandparents were born, Norway, where we could visit the town our family name came from and of course, Israel (that i might have to do alone because hubby isn’t too excited about that.)
Family is important to us so of course, we would love to be able to provide for them. This might have to be the lottery route, LOL. But I mentioned a new career, which you are participating in right now. Online marketing and blogging.
It’s going slow but the potential is there if I just get really serious about it. Here’s where a serious mindset change needs to change. I was kinda tricked into getting into this and have really been dragging my feet but I’m really starting to enjoy it more and I can see a rewarding career here. And my dream is not for me but for building a legacy business that my grandchildren and great grandchildren can flourish by in the future.
Remembering the Past!
Many of our family are gone now (that happens when you get old) but I want to be able to go back to the midwest and visit what few members are still living. So, my next dream would be healthy and strong enough to make one more on-the-road trip to not only visit family but to see high school friends (yes I do have friends as old as me) and visit some of the spots I’ve only heard of and not been able to visit.
Maybe one more cruise even though, since Covid, my husband isn’t too excited about this either. We’ve sailed to Alaska, Mexico, the Panama Canal, Canada and the East Coast, the Aegean Sea and the Caribbean. I have been to Hawaii several time but would love to do a cruise from the West Coast to the Hawaiian Islands and back. My husband was in the Navy and it really relaxes him to be at sea and believe me, he needs to relax.
Well, that’s the beginning of my Dream Bigger/Bucket list from off the top of my head. Of course, I need to do the stripping of layers to get to the bottom so I may be back here, making changes in the future. Stop by once in a while to see what changed.
