Achieving your dream is one of the most life-altering experiences that you can have. It is empowering and it gives a great sense of accomplishment. But to achieve your dream, you must plan and take action to achieve it. Otherwise, you turn your dream into nothing more than a wish. You must also define your dream well or risk being unhappy after achieving your dream. With that in mind, here is how to follow your dream:
Define your dream as a new beginning.
It’s possible to define your dream as the end of a journey. It’s also possible to define your dream as the beginning of a new journey. For example, one person can dream of passing the Bar Exam while another can dream of practicing law. To the person who wants to pass the Bar Exam, doing so is the end of the journey. But to the person who wants to practice law, passing the Bar Exam is the beginning of a new journey.
Achieving a dream that is the end of a journey can lead you to ask “Now what?”. The answer (or lack thereof) can create a feeling of emptiness. Achieving your dream only to feel empty can be depressing. After all, if your dream coming true doesn’t make you happy, then what will? This problem has plagued many successful people.
If your dream is a new beginning, that changes everything. It means that achieving your dream will put you on an exciting new journey. Your new journey will have purpose and fulfillment.
Believe in yourself even if nobody else does.
Belief in yourself is crucial whenever you go after your dream. Otherwise, you will give a half-hearted effort at best. Also, you cannot depend on everyone to believe in you. This is especially true if your dream is difficult, or if they have failed to achieve theirs. Even if they believe in you, that is not enough. It is your belief and your efforts that will achieve your dreams.
Understand the different paths to your dream.
There are many paths to your dreams. Some paths are direct, while others are indirect. You should learn about different paths to your dreams before you settle on one. You should choose a path that gives you a high chance of success. But it helps to have a backup plan if your primary plan doesn’t work. Your plan should give a clear and realistic path toward your dream.
Use goals as milestones and stepping stones.
The path toward your dream should be made of shorter segments connected by goals. By breaking it down into attainable goals, you make the process more manageable. You should plan it so that achieving one goal makes it easier to achieve the next goal. This way, the goals act as stepping stones to the following goals. The goals that you reach can also act as milestones to measure your progress. This helps during the difficult times by showing how far you have come.
Follow through.
This is where you turn your plan into action. Without action, plans become irrelevant, and dreams degrade into wishes. Although this might be the most difficult step, it is the most important. Failure to follow through is a major reason why many people don’t achieve their dreams. By failing to act, their dreams become meaningless wishes. So follow through on your plan even if the plan is less than perfect.
Remove unnecessary distractions.
A distraction is anything that diverts your attention away from where it needs to be. Distractions can also steal your time and other resources. Now some distractions (such as emergencies) need your attention. But many don’t. This latter group includes things like TV, social media debates, and other wastes of time. The best way to deal with unnecessary distractions is to ignore them.
Expect frustrations and persevere despite them.
Regardless of how well you plan, your plan is likely to be less than perfect. Sometimes life events disrupt your progress due to no fault of your own. For these reasons, you can expect moments of frustration. Sometimes it will force you to alter your plan to reach your goal. This is especially true if the frustration was due to a flawed plan. Sometimes you will need to work harder and for longer than you expect. Whatever the case, you should never give up.
Keep reminding yourself of your dream.
Going after your dream can be difficult. Also, many times it can be discouraging. You can deal with this by reminding yourself of your dream. It will provide encouragement when you question if your dream is attainable or worth it. You can remind yourself by using things that represent your dream. One example would be an aspiring pilot having aviation books and magazines.
Avoid negative people.
There is no benefit in being around people who want you to fail. This should be a foregone conclusion. At best, they will create or become major distractions. They will try to discourage or even betray you. Whatever the case, you should avoid negative people. If they are your relatives, then the situation is more difficult. But you should still keep your distance anyway. If they are your “friends”, then it is time to end those friendships.
Learn from those who have gone before you.
Learning from people who have gone before you can help in the pursuit of your dreams. After all, it’s better to learn from someone else’s mistakes instead of your own. You can also learn which path to your dreams is the most efficient or effective.
The best case is to have a mentor who has achieved your dream. The mentor can give you great advice on the best path to take. He or she can also let you know when you are about to make a mistake. The mentor can also be a source of encouragement during difficult times.
If you don’t have a mentor, then you should learn about people who have achieved your dream. You can learn this from books or documentaries about these people. Although not as good as a mentor, it can still provide good information.
In summary, you should define your dream as the beginning of a new journey. Otherwise, you risk being unhappy after achieving your dream. You should understand the different paths to your dream before you pick the best one. When you choose your path, you should use goals as stepping stones and milestones.
You must follow through or else all the planning will be for nothing. When you follow through, you must remove distractions. You must expect frustrations and be willing to work through them. You should also keep reminding yourself of your dreams. It also helps if you learn from others who have gone before you while avoiding negative people.