How to create the life of your dreams
I’m going to share a secret with you, I have spent pretty much most of my adult life designing the kind of lifestyle I want and making it happen. Whether it’s been a job or a holiday, home or relationship, I have orchestrated it. Sometimes it’s taken months and other times years but either way I’ve eventually fulfilled some of my smallest and biggest dreams. Now I’m not telling you this to show-off or to be all smug. I want to share with you some ways you can stop sleeping with your dreams and instead, wake up and make them happen.
Get clear on what it is you want.
Deciding what you want is literally the first step towards getting it, if you don’t have clarity on what your dreams and goals are how are you going to ever achieve them? Write down your dream and get with the detail. This forces you to be specific on what you want. So, if you are sat right now, in a job you hate and want to go travelling, make a list of where you want to travel to and where you’ll visit first. This is going to help you stay focussed. A bit like most things in life, whether its planning a party or what you need to buy from the supermarket, you start by getting it down on paper!
Get started, there’s no point in putting off your dreams.
You have to start putting steps in place to make them happen. If your dream is to lose 12lbs and get fit, don’t bust open the family pack of biscuits in front of the TV vowing to start on Monday, you have to start today. A quick and easy way to test how much this dream means to you is your motivation and commitment. I’m going to get real with you - If you want something so bad, then you’ll not stop until you get it. If you aren’t 100% up for it then don’t beat yourself up, it doesn’t make you a failure it just means that right now this dream isn’t that important to you. You have to be honest with yourself.
Break it down.
Break down your big dream into mini manageable steps that all lead towards the end goal. Make your dream actionable and put a timeline against it. You might want to be the author of a number one best seller so break down your dream into little chunks: first commit to enrolling onto and passing a creative writing course. Then work on mapping out your storyline idea and character personalities. Once you have achieved these goals aim to spend 30 minutes a day writing your book with a view to sharing your first draft with a publisher by the end of the year.
Take control of your dreams.
Once you are clear on what it is you want, take control of the things you can. There’s always going to be areas of your life you can’t take control of and that’s why it’s important you recognise where you can influence your dreams. Make a list of things you can influence and focus your energy and efforts towards them. Remember the two key things you can control are your effort and attitude.
Trust yourself.
Whenever we try something new or are pushed out of our comfort zone fear kicks in. Trust yourself and don’t let fear take over.
Be prepared for setbacks.
Things don’t always go to plan and if you’re hit with a setback don’t let it stop you. Take any learnings from it and readjust your plan accordingly. Remind yourself of how much you want this and don’t lose focus.
Enjoy it
Life is a journey - learning, growing and discovering new things is part of the adventure. Remember this is your dream it’s meant to be fun, so enjoy it.