“If you can dream it you can do it”
Walt Disney
Image via Shutterstock
Earlier this week we talked about how important it is to dream about what we want to achieve in our career or indeed in life generally. And that’s all good, but merely dreaming probably won’t make a big difference. What we can do however is to use our dreams to get creative about our own vision and to help shape the future that we choose for ourselves. Our dreaming helps us to build a successful life for ourselves and make that vision come to life.
Think about these five things as you kick off working towards your vision:
- The clearer your vision (of what you want to achieve) is, the more likely you are to pull towards it. With less clarity, the more you are likely to stay where you are. Staying where you are (despite having other wishes) = remaining in your comfort zone.
2. Dreaming about possibilities for the future and then linking that to your vision, makes it very clear what is important to you.
3. The act of dreaming provides a focus and direction for you.
4. It also gives a meaning to what you are doing – it inspires you.
5. Dreaming can be a powerful kick-start to defining and organising your strategies and plans in a proactive way.
Ask yourself these questions to start the dreaming process for your future, but don’t be restricted by them – allow yourself to think bigger and dream bigger.
- What is your purpose – why are you here? What are you truly passionate about, in your heart? Maybe to learn and grow, maybe to help stop world hunger, maybe to be a helpful human being, maybe to contribute to science and research etc. The options are many, we are all different and we can and should all contribute in our different ways. It’s not an absolute must to identify a purpose, but those that do find it to be a source of endless inspiration and motivation.
- What does success mean to you specifically? Do you know? If not, you need to. Many people find that they are not as successful as they want to be, but realize that they had never identified for themselves what success means to them. Or they realized that they had just bought into somebody else’s definition of success, without considering that it wasn’t the right one for them.
- What do you want to achieve? What’s your vision, your big and small goals? Your short- and long-term goals. Break it all down and make it specific.
- Think about how each part of your life is connected. Home, career, charity, business, hobby etc. Are they cooperating with each other, are they supporting and giving leverage to each other? If not, how can you make sure that they are?
- Think about people who can support you. Who are the people in your dream support group? Make sure you connect and exchange with positive, supportive people who can creatively challenge you to achieve your goals, and do the same for them if appropriate.
- What are your key personal strengths, which can help you achieve your dream/vision? What talents and characteristics do you have that can provide the focus, skill and pull towards your vision? Get to know them, develop them further and make use of them as much as you possibly can.
Create a dream board, a vision board
Now, start writing all these things down. Cut out pictures from magazines, print pictures you find on the internet. Create a dream board, a vision board that provides the constant visual reminder of what you want.
And when you achieve it, celebrate! In fact, celebrate each key milestone, as it’s a great way of keeping your motivation high. And maybe you have another dream that you want to pursue next.
Here’s to your success – whatever that means to you.
About the authors
Mandy Flint & Elisabet Vinberg Hearn, award-winning authors of ”The Team Formula”.
Their latest book, multi-award-winning ”Leading Teams – 10 Challenges: 10 Solutions”, published by Financial Times International is a practical tool for building winning teams. You can download a free chapter of the book at www.leadingteamsbook.com
Praise for ”Leading Teams: ”Enjoyable to read. Simple to understand. Practical to implement. A must read for team members or leaders”Debbie Fogel-Monnissen, Executive Vice President, International Markets Finance Officer, Mastercard, NY, USA
