Hallo! Sorry I have been remiss about not blogging on a regular basis…too much running and not enough writing 🙂
This was an ‘expert column’ of mine that was recently published in Calgary’s Rising Women magazine:
Question: I’m struggling with how to make my dreams materialize. I know what I want to achieve but I don’t seem to be able to take the necessary steps to move forward.
There are five factors that must be in place for you to achieve your dreams. 1. Believe in yourself: if you don’t believe in your abilities, no one else will. 2. Trust your intuition: you may not know why you must fulfill a particular dream, only that it’s imperative you do so. Trust that – the answers will come.
3. Surround yourself with people who encourage you, not those who tell you why something can’t be done: the first is ideal; the second non-negotiable. 4. Show up and do the work: take at least one step every day, no matter how small, towards achieving your dream. 5. Enjoy the process: once you make a commitment to a dream and begin taking tangible steps towards achieving it, other forces will kick in and help move you closer to your goals. But you have to show up and do the work.
George Eliot (Maryann Evans) wrote, “It’s never too late to become what you might have been.” But know this: time IS passing – and how you spend your days is how you spend your life. Procrastination is the thief of time, so be aware that every moment you spend putting off until tomorrow what your soul is crying for you to do today takes you further from your dream.
Here are three tips to get you moving in the right direction again. 1. Spend time alone every day – and dream your dream! Even if it’s just five minutes, you need to visualize yourself achieving it…what does that feel like? 2. Break it down into manageable goals – and then break those down into bite-size tasks. 3. Prioritize: put one of these tasks, no matter how tiny, at the TOP of your daily to-do list.
Can’t be done? Then try this: close your eyes and picture yourself at the end of your life. You’re lying in your casket and they’re just about to close the lid. Now ask yourself if you’ve achieved what you needed to in this life. If the answer is no and you didn’t like how that felt, then yes – you CAN put your dream at the top of your list. Because if not now, when? If not you, who?
Take care,
Maryanne