Dreams are Just as Important as Goals
I’ve written quite a bit about setting & accomplishing goals; overcoming fears; and making the best out of difficult situations. But what I haven’t written enough about is flat out—unleashing your dreams.
Goal setting is a very mathematical process. It goes something like this: Define your goal. Map out the steps necessary to achieve it. Research, develop, act. Work until you get there. This is great, it makes sense, it gets things done. However, goals are full of limitations. In order to accomplish Z, first I need to do X and Y. If I want to be in this place by this date, then I’ve got to accomplish X, Y, and Z by this date. And so on and so forth it goes. We plan and work and strive.
Yes, goal-setting & goal accomplishment are crucial elements to success; but sometimes we have to just let go of our goals and start unleashing our dreams! Throw caution to the wind and go for it. But how?, you ask. Well, you start by defining your dreams & broadcasting them to the world. Today I am going to define my wildest dreams & share them with you.
“Achieving life is not the equivalent of avoiding death.” –Ayn Rand
Why Are We Afraid to Expose Our Dreams?
To be honest, I am a bit nervous about this. I feel like I am exposing a part of myself that I’ve kept hidden. When you keep your wildest dreams to yourself, you’re safe. If no one knows what you want, then no one can hold you accountable. For example, if your best friend has no idea that you dream of moving to Costa Rica to collect butterflies in the rain forest—then she isn’t going to check in with you once a month and ask where you’re at. If you’re father doesn’t know that you dream of quitting your job to build collectible trains and sell them on Ebay—then he isn’t going to be hounding you with questions about it at the holidays. And when you are not faced with those questions you are safe. Your dreams can stay on the back burner while your life passes you by. You are not held accountable. You don’t experience pressure. But, my friend, today is the day that you must realize something critical: It is pressure that makes diamonds!
Broadcast Your Desires to the Universe
Steve Pavlina recently wrote a post called Broadcast Your Desires. In the post, he explains why broadcasting our desires & dreams to the world is the best way to make them a reality. If you can’t broadcast your desires, it’s fair to say that you don’t own them yet. In order to make your desires become real, you’ve got to speak up about them. If you’re going to receive them, then let it be known. If you find it necessary to hide what you desire, that suggests you aren’t ready to receive.
Well, I am ready to receive! I hope that by taking this step in my own life, I will inspire you to take it in your own. Here I go…!
My Dreams
1. Grow evolution you
I want to take this blog to great heights, attract thousands of readers, inspire people around the world. I want to monetize it so that I can devote myself to improving people’s lives full-time. And as a result, I want to become location independent so that I can travel the world, spreading love & light where ever I go.
2. Write a book
I haven’t quite worked out the details of this one yet—it’s a bit ever-evolving. I’ll pin it down soon enough, for now I am just dreaming wildly!
3. Travel to the Great Pyramids in Egypt
I feel intimately connected to the people of ancient Egypt. Perhaps it is the beautiful & mysterious way that Ancient Egypt is depicted in films & literature, whatever the cause, the very idea of it thrills me. I have long dreamed of visiting & exploring the ancient pyramids for myself.
4. Learn to speak French
5. Spend time living & working in Europe
Italy, France, and Belgium all seem such lovely places to me. I’d like to spend at least a few months in each place.
6. Safari in Africa
This is the only dream on the list that I already accomplished. In the Summer of 2006 I studied abroad in Kenya, studying, on safari, and touring. It was a truly incredible experience and I’ll be making a post about it soon.
7. Live in the wilderness
I am insanely attracted to nature. In fact, I am quite convinced that I am a tigress/she-wolf/mermaid trapped in the body of a human woman. I feel most at home in nature—in the mountains, near the sea, anywhere wild. I’ve long dreamed of escaping the civilization circa Into the Wild. It would certainly not be a permanent thing; but I’d love to experience it at least for a few weeks to see how long I’d last.
8. Have or adopt a baby
Last February my sister gave birth to me beautiful Godson, Brian. Ever since then, I’ve heard the ticking of my own biological clock a tad louder than before. I am not in any rush, as you can see I’ve got a lot I want to do before I am quite ready to “settle down” but it is definitely an enormous dream of mine, some day.
9. Spend time on a Native American reservation
I’d like to spend some time living or at least working/volunteering on a reservation. I am passionate about Native American culture and it would be a great honor to serve the Native American people in some capacity and to learn first-hand their cultures, traditions, and needs.
10. Serve on the Board of Directors for a prominent wildlife conservation foundation
11. Visit a Buddhist monastery in Tibet
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These are not all of my dreams, not nearly, but the list could go on and on. For now, these are the ones that I am working toward—in the near & distant—future. It was not nearly as difficult to share them as I thought it would be! This list will be ever-evolving and I will update it as my dreams are accomplished and as they change.
Alright, I did my part. Now it’s your turn! I would love to hear about your big dreams in the comments or if you make your own big dream post please let me know about it.
I actually did this in September for about 3 1/2 weeks. I got so much done, my yoga practice was so much stronger, and I felt better in general. The 1st week was the hardest cause I was used to having a glass of wine to wind down at the end of the day. Good luck!
Really? Thanks so much for sharing, Elle! I am happy to hear that you had a positive experience. That gives me even more motivation to stick with it!
Great idea! I’m in the same boat – I wouldn’t say I’m an alcoholic by any means, but I enjoy my wine a little too much for my own comfort. So count me in! This sounds like the perfect personal challenge for November!
Thanks, Lisa! So excited to hear that you’ll be joining me in the challenge. Moral support! Good luck to you and make sure you keep in touch and let me know about your progress.
think this is awesome, good luck dena! <3
Thank you, beautiful Crista. <3
Good luck, Dena. I didn’t have my first drink until I was in my 30’s, and sometimes I wish I’d never started. This will be an enlightening adventure for us both. xo
Wow! Thirty! That is incredible. I started drinking early… and often. It was (and to some extent is) a way of life within my family & group of friends. I’m really looking forward to seeing how this goes. xo
I think I shall join you friend…..cheers!
Yay! So excited to hear that, darling. Let me know of your progress. xo
Good luck Dena!
I did this too with my husband and it was great fun. After the first couple of days we had a defined taste in teas of all sorts and it wasn’t hard on us at all!
Have great cleaning 30 days!
Love, Kathy
Thanks for sharing, Kathy! Happy to hear that you guys had such a positive experience. I’m looking forward to it.
Very Timely Note Dearest Dena!! My thoughts yesterday where very powerful towards taking such action….Then, this morning I come in to your “burst of inspiring love” Think I’ll be joining you—thank you— make it a great day!
Really, Cindy? I am so excited to hear that you will be joining me! Thank you for all of your sweet words. Love you so much. Let me know how it goes. XOXO
I am so excited for you that you’re embarking on this alcohol-less journey. Your first paragraph basically describes my relationship with alcohol as well. Alcoholism runs through my blood as well, so I can relate on so many levels. At first I thought it was going to be the social situations that would be post difficult to handle without alcohol, like “Don’t worry guys, I’m still fun without booze.” But honestly, it’s the after a long day at work glass of wine that I miss the most. So, I too am trying to find a new outlet to release those defeated or stressed feelings.
xoox
I have a feeling that my evening glass(ES!) of wine are going to be the ones that I miss the most, too. And I know I’ll be alright on the weekdays, but weekends are going to slay me. However, I feel like this is really important. I am hoping that I will prove to myself that I don’t need it to be happy + I hope that by doing so, I can also change my habits.
Thank you so much for inspiring me to do this, love. xoxo
I appreciate the honesty of this post. I can relate. Being pregnant three times has taught me the joy of sipping and savoring a good glass of wine. I try to remember that after I give birth and have the green light to booze it up again. 🙂
Thanks, Angie. You know, it’s so funny that you mention pregnancy. I am getting married in June and we are planning to try and start a family soon after. I’ve often thought– “OMG! How am I going to get through nine months without a drink?!” The next 30 days will be excellent preparation. :o)
Awesome! I have been on a non alcohol month in october and intend to pursue this until xmas.
It feels reaaly good. I’ll write about it soon.
That is fantastic, Manu! I can’t wait to read about your experience. I hope that you do write about it soon. :]
Wow Dena, you hit this one on the head. I echo every sentiment you wrote here. I should probably give up booze for a while too. If for nothing else just to get a little un-clouded in my head.
Thanks a lot, JR. Writing this has really opened up my eyes to how common this problem(?) is. I hesitate to say problem. It’s a fine line because I truly enjoy a good drink or glass of wine and I feel like that’s okay. But I shouldn’t rely on it. Ya know? So I am really hopeful that this experiment will do something positive for me. Let me know if you decide to join in.
Good luck Dena, I am sure that you will do great.
Good luck 🙂 I’m looking forward to your progress. Alcohol has been a touchy thing for me too and your no alcohol November motivates me more that I can go without it for a while too 🙂
I’ve given up the bottle as well. I have a totally addictive personality so I’ve abused every substance I’ve ever tried. My relationships are in ruins and I’ve had to do some soul searching to figure out what’s wrong with me. I wish you all the best, I’ll be walking this path with you! And boy has it been hard watching Boardwalk Empire whilst not drinking!
Dena…let my know how your ebook goes? I am interested in writing my own.
Hey, Matt! Will do.
How is this going? I drink almost every night. Sometimes it’s just a glass but still…. brave soul. Let me know!
It hasn’t been easy, Meg! I am going to make an update soon. Long story short, it’s been a challenge (some days harder than others) but it’s been incredibly worthwhile & I am so glad that I am doing this.
I did this last year from Nov. 10th through Dec. 10th! I feel the same way as you.
http://www.neverniche.com/p/popular-posts.html <– recapped at days 10, 20, 30.
Hi Dena, I found your post because Manu linked both of us in *his* post about quitting alcohol. I did a 30 day no-alcohol test for myself two years ago. I was worried that perhaps I was an alcoholic – many of the things you wrote above resonate with how I feel about alcohol. My favorite thing that I learned was that I will just put away any glass in my hand – not just alcohol. If I was at a cafe working on my laptop and drinking cherry coke, I’d go through them as fast as beer or G&T. I just feel compelled to finish whatever is in the glass. Since you mentioned going through 4 or 5 drinks at a time, I wonder, have you noticed anything similar to this during your own 30 day break? Or is it just me?
Hey Drew! It’s perfect timing because I just now posted my results posted following the 30 day challenge. “I just feel compelled to finish whatever is in the glass.” I can totally sympathize with this, though this compulsion haunts me more with food than drink. I’ve suffered with my weigh tall my life and one of the big reasons is because I love it so much. No matter how full I feel, I am always compelled to finish what’s on the plate.
I learned an incredible lot through this challenge. I just posted my results here: http://evolutionyou.net/no-alcohol-november-results/ Would love to hear your thoughts. I am going to check out your site now & follow you back on Twitter.
Pleased to meet you, Drew!
How have I not found your blog before? I actually just came across it via Drew’s tweet. Yesterday marked the end of my one-year experiment without alcohol, and it was easily one of the best experiments I’ve ever done. I feel like a much more confident and empowered person now, and I have no desire to drink again. My main reason for giving it up was that I used it too much as a crutch. I felt like I couldn’t relax and have fun until I was three drinks deep.
I hope November went well for you.
Thanks for the comment, Niall. Really glad we’ve found each other. I just posted my challenge results this morning. (http://evolutionyou.net/no-alcohol-november-results/). I definitely learned a lot. My relationship with alcohol is forever changed. I, too, was using it as a crutch, both to deal with stress and to make awkward social situations easier.
I’m really glad I did the challenge, even though I mucked it up in the end. The lessons are invaluable. I’m now going to check out your site and follow you back on Twitter. :]