5 Steps To Making Your Dreams Your Reality

Women can spend so much time in nurturing mode that we hit pause on our own dreams. We’re running kids to practice, volunteering when no one else will, cooking for the family, supporting friends through breakups…you name it we’re doing it. All except building the world we really want for ourselves. We have dreams that persistently haunt us, but our schedules don’t give us space to pursue them. Instead, we write stickies, add items to to-do lists, send emails to ourselves or if you’re like me you jot a note down in your Evernote, but they get stuck in the “some day” plans.

The universe will eventually begin to wake up our dreams. Our inner voice will start to point out people who connect with our dreams. It can be a forced period of rest through an illness. Or maybe like me you find yourself crying in the parking lot unable to drag yourself into your office for a paycheck that has nothing to do with your passion. Whatever your dream this post is meant to be the alarm clock that will let you know it's time to wake up and MAKE IT HAPPEN!

The first step to dream building is recognizing that “perfect” timing is an elusive myth. You just have to decide I’m ready to sacrifice my comfort and the comfort of others to ensure I reach my dream. Start on your dream building path by following these simple strategies:

Eliminate

The “ideal” time to pursue your dreams is never going to come. When I decided to go after my dream, it meant letting go of my excuses, my insecurities and letting go of things other people needed me to do (especially the ones that were on my plate because I just didn’t know how to say NO)! Dream chasers have to cross off things on their “to-do lists” that are going to get in the way of dream fulfillment. Getting serious about building the life you want will mean eliminating the things and people that serve as roadblocks to your goals.

Affirm

Dream chasing gets messy—when glitches in the plan arise, when your ride or dies start questioning if you’re doing the right thing and heck when your bank account starts to decrease more than increase. Write yourself affirmations. Say out loud, “I’m ready, this is my time!” Post sticky notes a la Mary Jane style around your bedroom reminding yourself how awesome you are and all the talents and skills you have that make you able to achieve your dream. Establishing ways to affirm yourself before you hit the bumps in the road ensures that you won't give up before you see the fruits of your dreams.

Account

I was so scared to let my dream leave my lips because it felt so crazy. I held on to it for years because I didn’t want anyone to judge my CRAZY BIG dream. But, what I learned is that letting it out was just what I needed. I made myself accountable. Someone could ask me what I was doing, when was I going to start, what steps had I taken, what was I waiting for and even just simply say, "you know I think you should go for it". A dream chaser cannot lock her dreams away in her mind and never let them out. She has to be daring enough to let at least one person hear her dream and then ask them to hold her accountable to pursuing your dream.

Start

At some point you are just going to have to stop testing the water by sticking your toe in and just jump in! If you’re a perfectionist like me, the starting can be the hardest part because you want it to be just PERFECT. Every day that passes is another day that you're not living up to your full potential just START! Things can be changed, they can be improved, but you can never see what tweaks you need to make in the dream if you never start to make the dream a reality. In pursuing my dream, I saw adjustments I needed to make in the dream and had I waited it just meant a little more torture for myself because I was not living my dream.

Celebrate

Take in each step of your journey and find some way to celebrate it. Dream building is hard and it’s easy to get distracted, stagnant or disillusioned finding moments to celebrate will help you remember that you are moving toward your ultimate goal. Find creative ways to celebrate your journey—video chat a friend and show them your newest creation, end your work day early and head to the bar for a happy hour, post your accomplishment to social media(double score with this one because you celebrate and also engage fans), Taking time to celebrate is just a reminder that you’re really making YOUR DREAM YOUR REALITY!

So what dream are you ready to make a priority?

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