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No matter how far we get in life, how many goal we achieve or how much success we enjoy, there’s always that one elusive dream which will remain impossible to realise, if not necessarily forever, then at least right now.
It is also usually the case that such distant dream is the one we yearn to bring to life the most.
If Only…
Occasionally through fear, though more often than not through practical, logical thinking, we convince ourselves that this dream must remain out of reach for the time being, coming up with a multitude of excuses why it just can’t possibly happen or wishing for some change in circumstances to present themselves.
Statements like these can all seem like perfectly natural and valid reasons why we can’t do whatever it is we want to do.
That said, we can often bring ourselves closer to achieving our heart’s desire simply by changing our way of thinking.
“My dream is to become a best-selling novelist.â€
That’s all very nice, but here’s the thing:
Dreams are the things that happen to us when we’re asleep. Dreams are the things which require nothing from us beyond lying down with our eyes closed. Dreams are the things which rarely, if ever, come to life.
Dreams to Goals
Try this way of thinking instead:
“My goal is to become a best-selling novelist.â€
All we’ve done is replace one simple word with another, yet it’s a word which changes the entire meaning behind the statement and thus our way of thinking.
Goals are the things that we make happen when we’re awake. Goals are the things which require us to get up, keep our eyes open on the road ahead and work. Goals are the things which often, if not always, come to life providing we work at them.
By changing our dreams to goals we inevitably start to look at them in a different light and draw them closer towards us. We may never realise a dream, but countless people from all walks of life set themselves incredible goals every day and go on to achieve dreams consistently. If they can do it, so can we.
How we get there
So far so good, though that still leaves us with the excuses, with the practical, logical thinking which looks us straight in the eye and says ‘no.’
- If only we had enough money.
- If only we had enough time.
If only we could stop saying ‘if only’ and change our way of thinking.
Can we really do that? Of course we can, and it’s easier than you think.
Again, all we’re doing is changing a few simple words when we talk to ourselves. This time, get rid of statements starting with ‘If only’ and replace with questions which begin ‘How can I…’
- How can I get enough money?
- How can I make enough time?
- How can I gain enough knowledge, experience or talent?
This approach uses exactly the same practical, logical thinking we’d earlier used to convince ourselves we couldn’t realise that elusive dream, only now instead of preventing us from doing something, we’re using it to help us do exactly the same thing.
Ask yourself these questions and give some serious thought to the answers and that goal draws even closer.
- If money is a barrier, can you get a second job? Sell things you don’t use? Get a loan?
- If time is holding you back, can you get up earlier? Go to bed later? Get some help with household chores which suck away the hours?
- If you don’t have enough knowledge can you take a course? Read a book? Speak to an expert?
Employing this kind of thinking helps you see beyond the obstacles you’d previously placed in the road to realising your biggest goals arms you with any number of solutions to overcoming them.
Let’s go back to our aspiring writer, shall we?
“My dream is to become a best-selling novelist . If only I had the time to sit down and write.â€
or…
“My goal is to become a best-selling novelist, so I will create time to write by waking up an hour earlier each morning.â€
All we’ve done is replace a few words, but in doing so not only changed our thinking, but changed an impossible dream to an entirely possible goal.
Featured photo credit: Â woman paint a city with spray bottle via Shutterstock
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