3 Steps to Reclaim Your Dreams

3 Steps to Reclaim Your Dreams
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Working hands on with cheetahs - a dream come true for the author!

Working hands on with cheetahs - a dream come true for the author!

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As kids we took our dreams and wishes seriously. It was our default state, constantly searching for ways to get what we wanted. We didn’t like to hang around too long waiting for it.

While this search for instant gratification is certainly not always appropriate in adult life, taking our dreams seriously should remain important to us. So how do we do that?

1) Identify Them

This may seem obvious but first we have to identify and uncover what our real heartfelt dreams and wishes are.

It’s easy to be distracted by what other people want from us or what we think we should want. We follow the herd and try to fit in, this is natural. However, is this really what we want or are we just keeping up with others?

Only you can truly know what you are passionate about, what makes you tick and gets you truly excited.

Spend time peeling back what it is that makes you really come alive. Identify your dreams.

2) Make Them Important

Once you have identified your dreams, it’s time to make them a priority.

Deferred living (I’ll do this tomorrow) can creep in at this point or complete overwhelm (i.e. how do I get from where I am to where I want to get to?)

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To avoid this, just try doing one small thing today that can help in supporting you toward your goals. Then, make this a daily habit.

Just do something in support of your goal. It could be something small (a tweet to tell people about a new blog post) or it could be something large (a move to a new country). Anything in between is fine as well, just commit to action.

Whatever approach you take, start taking your dreams and aspirations seriously.

3) Make Them Happen

Dreams are great at often giving us either small clues or indeed big neon style pointers to what it is we truly desire. However, who says they have to stay dreams?! We can also make them our reality.

Identifying and then making our dreams and wishes important leads us to then trying to make them happen. This life is yours to lead so whether you know it or not you are master of your own ship. You can sit passively and watch your life pass by or you can take action and really try to make your actual life the one of your dreams. Which would you rather it would be?

Reclaim your ability to dream out loud.

Note: This post is reworked from the original version shared on my blog Frictionless Living.

Carl is the author of several short books full of big ideas including: Slow: Seeking Stillness in Fast Paced Times and Need Less, Live More . He is also the proud owner of Frictionless Living which is focused on helping readers live a simpler, more personally satisfying, life.

Follow Carl Phillips on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FrictionlessLiv

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