Relationships

 D is for Dream

What’s one dream you still hope to achieve in your life?

“If you don’t know what you want, how do you hope to get it?”

 What is the difference between a dream and a goal? 

There’s probably no technical difference. But to the DARE process, there is.  Your dream is the BIG PICTURE of your life and how you want to live it. A goal is a step along the way to making your dream come true. Goals are stepping stones, also known as milestones.  Goals are made up of Tasks and To Do lists that have due dates attached to them.

Living the DREAM

When you have a dream you become more passionate about life. Passionate people are more attractive. Passionate people radiate more energy – they seem to glow. People notice and are influenced by passion.  As a passionate person, you can attract or repel, but regardless, you give people a nudge and you’ll be remembered. People who are passionate about their Dreams are healthier (maybe because they care more) than those without. People with Dreams get beyond bad news and hard times quicker and easier than others. When you are passionate about something, you become more charismatic and admirable. You become someone others want to be. 

What is your dream?

Close your eyes for just a moment and think about this:

When you imagine your life, what would you really love to have, do or be in 2 or 3 years from now?  

Mary Morrisey talks about this in her Dream Builders Workshop.  The question you should ask yourself is not what would you like to have. Or what do you need.  The question is what would you LOVE to have in your life?

Close your eyes. Let your imagination go. Put extra emphasis on the word LOVE and think about your future. (You can skip over all the things you know you don’t want, even though sometimes those might be important, too – like I know I don’t want to be around toxic people!)  To build a life you love, start by dreaming about the things that would absolutely make your life awesome. 

• What is your home like?
• Where do you live?
• What kinds of vacations do you take?
• How often do you take them and who goes with you?
• What work do you do, or how do you serve the world?
• How are you making a difference?

Dreaming is a game of your imagination so don’t limit yourself.  Go for it.  Remember, there is energy and power in dreams. 

Note: A dream is like a GPS. It guides your life, giving you purpose, hope and direction. A dream is the fuel that gives you the energy and drive to wake up and do what you need to do. 

If you haven’t taken our Life Quiz that helps you identify your highest values, go do it now.  That’s the best place to start.

Part 2   D has a half step.

Key Mindset Shift Item:

Your Dream is the key to your motivation. 

The big secret in the movie THE SECRET  was that what you see is what you get.  More accurately, what you focus on consistently is what you will bring about in your life. If you can see it in your mind’s eye – you can achieve it.  The more vividly you see it, the more likely it is you will get it.   If you are not good at visualization (some people just can’t get the knack of it, but don’t worry!) then make yourself a vision board so you have something to focus on. Better yet—make a HEARTMAP!

However, unfortunately, your dreams don’t stand a real chance of coming true if all you do is close your eyes and picture it.  

Keep on reading if you want to get to the HOW.

Your great big juicy dream is the big vision of your life, and probably has lots of little important pieces to it.  Kind of like a jigsaw puzzle; you have to put all the pieces together to see the big picture.

So this is the half step: Take your big dream and identify all the key pieces (especially the non-negotiable pieces) before going forward.  We call this chunking.  

If you want more help, visit the Heartmap page. 

Here is an example of a Big Dream chunked down to bite size pieces:

You can create a little map like the one above, or you can simply itemize your list like the example below:

In my big dream….. xyz the little chunks are:

• I am healthy and fit – I see myself running forest trails and an occasional 5k
• I own my own successful business helping micro business owners expand their reach
  • In a small mountain town
  • I don’t work nights or weekends
• I live outside the town limits (or at least on acreage so I have lots of space to garden)
• In a big custom-built barn home that has several guest rooms
• With a large vegetable garden
• I drive an old Jeep for fun but mostly ride my bicycle (it doesn’t have to be a Jeep)
• I am happily married (or intimate, committed partner)
• With my adult children nearby
• And a dog or 3
• I love cooking gourmet meals during my off time
• I (we) travel to different parts of the world on our vacations (must travel first or business class or don’t go)

Now that we have the big dream broken down into a list of Must-haves, we’re ready to get to work on bringing these things into reality!

It’s a great start to know your dream. It’s your big WHAT, but it’s not the HOW or the WHY of it. You can learn that in my blog or in the next step – ASSESS.