Everyone has a dream. For those of us in the online world…it is to see our little corner of the web grow. For others around the world, it might be professional achievement in corporate, a healthy set of two kids or even that car they drooled over as a kid. Each of these dreams are achievable, but many people run throughout life talking about their dreams only to find out later they were just words hitting air. Time goes on…things come up…and somewhere down the road…action was not taken. Every day of the week you can walk down the street and hear people talking about their dreams and what they want to accomplish, so what separates those that achieve their goals from those who just pay them lip service over time? Is there a secret? Is there something you can do today to change the outcomes of tomorrow?
Dream Lock: The Action Of Doing Nothing
It does not matter what your dream is. It can be a personal goal or a professional achievement. If you focus on the dream solely hoping that one day it will come true, you are going to be constantly waiting. I like to think of this as dream lock. The dreamer has an idea of where they want to head, but by focusing on the last step 24 hours a day, 7 days a week…they forget that there are steps 1 through 285 that need to be carried out before the dream can be realized.
By focusing on the dream and not how to get there…the dream becomes another “I wish I could have” in the life of the dreamer. Why does this happen? It’s simple. It is a lot more fun to talk about the dream ahead than it is to sit in reality about the boring steps it takes to get there. Instant gratification of the thought of a dream can often times be more satisfying to the human psyche than the accomplishment of a small task that adds up to that dream.
Dreams Are Made Reality One Step At A Time
Like most things in life, it is the small steps that matter. The small steps add up over time to bring you to the big reward. When you have a dream, it is important to have that focus to know where you want to end up down the road, but…during that process…the focus on step 1 and then step 2 and then step 3. By focusing on each step and checking them off the list, each step will add up to your dream.
Set the goal but focus on the steps.
By following that simple theory and keeping your focus on action, your dreams become a reality before you know it.
Too Much Future Thinking Is Overwhelming
Right now, my wife and I are going through some issues at home that are hard to deal with. Starting a family is proving to be a little bit more involved than we had hoped for, so there are certain things we are having to do that are outside of the normal way to do things. If we continue to sit back and wonder “what if” or just focus on the end result instead of the action we need to take to get there, we will end up overwhelming ourselves and getting into a situation where we freeze.
This theory of taking it one step at a time holds even more true for toughest situations in our lives. To truly be successful or tackle elements out of our control, we have to focus on each step and not lockup. It’s hard, but no one promised that life would be easy. Who we are is defined by the actions we take and by choosing inaction…you are making the conscious decision to be just another number. By choosing action…you are making the decision to be extraordinary.
Our success as human beings in life is the addition of small steps taken over time. Which step forward are you taking today?
Image by Michelle Brea
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