Have you ever noticed that people who dream big can actually accomplish big milestones in their lives? However, others who set themselves for little have difficulty getting anywhere. It is because it’s all about mindset. In this blog post, we’ll explore how dreaming big can help us achieve our goals in life.
Franklin D. Roosevelt said: “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.”
This quote encourages us to recognize how powerful our mindset is. It ultimately represents the title of this blog post – From Dreaming Big to Reality.
If only we can allow ourselves to dream big, then:
- the whole world will be open to us
- we’ll be free of constraints and limiting beliefs
- we’ll get to know ourselves better
- our lives will become more meaningful and we can truly pursue something that truly inspires us
- we can discover new fields within ourselves or even outside. Just as the wheel wouldn’t have been invented without dreaming big, our own capacity for exploration can lead to remarkable discoveries.
- we’ll set ourselves up for success and motivate ourselves to pursue our dreams
- we become explorers instead of victims of our own lives, and we can finally start living instead of surviving.
Yes, that’s how powerful dreaming big is.
The bridge between dreaming big and reality
The first step to achieving your goals is to dream big. In other words, dreaming big is the first step in your journey toward achieving your goal and reality is the last. Everything in between is hard work.
I want to talk about the “hard work” part because this will make the difference whether your dreams will become reality or not.
You can’t get anywhere without taking action. Now, dreaming big is the first action that you can do in order to get where you want but you need to put in hard work in order actually to get there.
You’ve seen those movies where there’s a character with a grand dream, but every time life throws obstacles their way, leading to moments of despair. Then, suddenly, after some kind of motivational speech from another person, there’s a beautifully edited montage with uplifting music, and in just a few minutes, they do all the hard work, looking ecstatically happy. And then, just after a few minutes, they achieve their big dream.
Well, guess what? It’s not that easy. In reality, that three-minute, polished sequence represents the entire journey it takes to get to your dream.
It can be that those kinds of movies make us think that hard work is not necessary for achieving great things. But it is.
Dreaming big is not only about the destination but also the journey
I’ve noticed that when I have a goal that I want to accomplish, I tend to overlook the obstacles along the way. And that’s when we get to the crossroads of whether we will get to our destination or not.
I’ve been listening to a podcast with the artist and songwriter Mike Posner. If you know him, then you know that he has walked across the U.S. In the Know Thyself podcast, he shares that he didn’t dream only about achieving his dream of walking across the U.S., but also about the obstacles along the way, and that is what kept him going.
He had been bitten by a rattlesnake and was taken by ambulance to the hospital, which was the perfect opportunity for him to quit (it was a hard and painful journey so quitting has crossed his mind). However, because he also thought about the challenges and not only about the destination, he continued his journey, even though it was a painful one.
What I wanted to emphasize with this is that challenges will come along the way to getting your big dream to become a reality. However, if you prepare for it, as you prepare for the big dream, you will be in the right mindset to keep going.
Allow yourself to dream big
Some of us, if not most of us, tend to live in the shadow, so to speak both in our lives and also when it comes to dreaming big. That’s when life is stagnant, or even regressive.
Because dreaming big and working toward achieving that dream is what makes us grow. That’s what makes us become better, evolve as human beings, and just become the person we want to be. That’s what makes successful people the way they are: they allow themselves to dream big.
Dreaming big vs manifesting
When people say the word “manifestation”, it implies that magic is happening when we start manifesting something. However, when talking about dreaming big, we don’t assume that there is any magic. We just assume that it is a step that is necessary to take if we want to achieve a goal.
With that being said, I believe that these two worlds are synonyms simply because manifestation inspires us to achieve our goals and we start working towards achieving them. In other words, both dreaming big and manifesting are important parts of the mindset needed to make our dreams come true.
And, maybe, there is some magic working in between. We are all here because we have been created by something bigger than ourselves. This means that the creation may extend towards our thoughts, patterns, and desires.
The deeper layer of manifesting and dreaming big
Often when people talk about manifestation, they forget to mention all the work that comes along with it. Therefore, it feels like there is real magic in there. You just sit and manifest and then suddenly you get a million dollars and a house of your dreams.
But manifestation is more nuanced than that. When constantly desiring something (or manifesting something), we rewire our brains. We change the neuropathways from one belief to another. From thinking that we are not enough to knowing that we do the best we can in this life. From not trusting ourselves to fully surrender to our intuition and heart. And from not having any motivation to do something to actually stand up and start progressing.
Practical tips on how to dream big and have the life you want
1. Realize that what is holding you back is your mindset
Do you want something but keep doing the opposite? I feel you. That’s the power of unconscious beliefs.
Your beliefs are at the core of your mindset. They’re like the lenses through which you see the world. If you keep nurturing negative beliefs about your abilities or self-worth, they can become your reality. For example, if you believe you’re not good enough to succeed in a particular area, you might not put in the effort required, leading to failure.
Therefore, I challenge you to challenge your beliefs. Realize what is that barrier that keeps you away from your dreams. Usually, it is low self-worth, lots of negative thoughts toward ourselves, or past failures. But it’s all just thoughts. You are capable of challenging your thoughts that might not even make sense. And that’s what will make you keep going.
Only by challenging ourselves, we can achieve something in this life. Otherwise, we are just floating on the water expecting to get to the shore. Without swimming.
Read a more comprehensive article here: How self-worth stops you from reaching your dreams?
2. Involve all of your senses when dreaming big
How does it feel to achieve your goal? Can you hear the noises in your dream life? Is it silence and peace? It is children running around your house? What about smell? It is the smell of a bakery that you go to every day? Is it the smell of the ocean? Or simply the smell of the coffee that you drink every morning before going to your dream job? And what can you feel? Touch of the person that makes you smile? A hug from a friend? Warmth, or chill. And most importantly, what do you see? Your dream house? What does it look like? Where is it located? Or you can see yourself running a business? Or volunteering on the other side of the globe?
Whatever it is, be as specific as possible. By doing so, you will let your mind know that you are there. Your mind doesn’t know the difference between imagining and being. Therefore, take advantage of this. By doing it regularly, you will reprogram your mind to think differently and forget the pattern of thoughts that ruminated on you for so long.
3. Live like you already achieved your dreams
I always used to tell myself that when I got to my dream life, I would finally start doing my morning routine which would consist of no phone in the morning, meditation, yoga, a healthy breakfast, and some breathing exercises. It’s like now I am a complete mess but then suddenly life is gonna flip around and I will have the life I always want.
Well, nope.
I realized that I can incorporate some small rituals in my life right now that will take me a step closer to my dream life. It’s by doing the small things that will make you achieve your big dreams. It will make your dream more realistic, and more achievable.
I have a good example here. Let’s say you want to move to a farm and pursue a more simple life. I feel like so many of us have this dream nowadays. Well, why not start today by simply making your own bread? Or fermenting some sourkraut? Or simply light up the candles instead of turning on the light in the evening? It sounds so simple but I bet it will make your everyday life more meaningful and fulfilling. On top of that, it will get you closer to your dream. You can’t really move to a farm without knowing how to bake your own bread, can you?
4. Failure is a growth sign
Do not be afraid to fail. Live your life from the curiosity perspective rather than out of fear of failure. It’s normal to fail, that’s what makes us stronger and makes us realize the mistakes we made.
Life gives us challenges (otherwise we will get too bored!). It’s life’s way of testing how resilient we are and how much we want to get to our dreams. So it’s essential not to give up. Or even worse, not even try.
There have been studies showing that we need 10.000 hours to achieve a skill. In the meantime, we fail, learn, and start again. But we can achieve any skill we want if we put effort into it. And I know, 10.000 hours sounds like a lot. But it’s something that you dream of, so enjoy the journey.
Related: How to Believe in Yourself (6 Simple yet Powerful Ways)
Final thoughts
I’m here to wake you up from your vicious dream and set you on a more beautiful, fulfilling, and joyful dream. A dream that will come true one day because you dared to dream big and took the steps to get there.
Do not let the thoughts of excitement that you experienced while reading this blog post pass away. I encourage you to sit in silence now and think: what do you want? Write it somewhere and come back to it again and again. Take the daily small steps that will serve as a bridge between your present circumstances and the future that you dream of.
Dream big. And change your reality.
With warmth,
Diana