If your life could be any way you imagine, what would it look like? Would you sell most of your belongings and travel the world? Would you build your dream home and spend most of your days home with the family with only a few hours of work?
Everyone has a different vision of what their dream life would look like. Most of us have a vague idea. We talk about the things we wish we had or wish we could do. We wish we could travel more or wish we had more money.
Some things are impossible. For example, I have neither the height nor the skills to make it in the WNBA. Nor am I likely to write the next great American novel. My mind doesn’t work that way.
But most of your dreams (and mine too) are actually possible. In fact, we are generally the ones standing in our own way. We don’t know how to get to our dream so we continually put off trying to achieve it or assume things are impossible so we don’t even try. Many times we keep telling ourselves it’s just not the right time, the kids are too young, my spouse has taken on a lot so if I go for my goals it will be too much.
These are all excuses which keep us from living the life we really want.
In a recent post, I talked about overcoming obstacles in achieving your goals. In it, there are practical tactics to help us overcome our doubt in our abilities to achieve our goals. It discusses overcoming our feelings of inadequacy and shows us what we are capable of.
But sometimes we don’t know what our goals are. We are stuck in the drudgery of everyday mom life and it’s hard to picture life outside of that. We don’t allow ourselves to dream about what life could be like cause we are just trying to get past today.
But, if we had a goal we were going after, maybe getting through today would be easier. If we knew we were taking steps towards our dreams, then the day to day stuff wouldn’t seem quite so bad.
On the other hand, in order to even set a goal, its helpful to have a vision of what we want our life to be like.
In order to create this vision take out a piece of paper or a notebook and a pen. You might even want to pour yourself a glass of wine. Relax. Then just start writing out what your dream life would look like.
This vision should be detailed. What car do you drive, where do you live, what do you do when you get up? Do you have the freedom to wake up, listen to a podcast, and exercise in the morning? Do you have a housekeeper?
Is your spouse working? Where do you go food shopping? What is your day like from start to finish? The more detailed you make this the easier it will be to use your vision to help you set goals.
Once you are satisfied with the vision you created, read it over. Is there anything you can do right now that will bring you closer to that dream life? Maybe you wish you had the time and freedom to exercise in the morning. Can you ask your spouse to watch the kids for 30 minutes a few mornings a week so you have time for a little self care? Maybe you can alternate with a friend so you each get a chance to workout every other day.
If your goal is to make an income online so that you can leave your job and work from home, what can you do now that will start you on that path. Maybe you can start creating products or create a blog or set up a presence on social media.
When you know where you are going, it’s easier to figure out how to get there. If the life you want is vague, like I want more money or I want more time at home, it’s harder to figure out how to make that happen.
When you have a clear vision of your dream life, you can break it down in order to take small steps into making it a reality.
What is one thing you can do today to help you achieve your dream life? Let me know in the comments.
Cheers,
Emily
