When I was in my first year of college, I had a professor who told me that writing and speaking was not my forte and that I should consider dropping out. At the time, I brushed her comment off or so I thought, but looking back, I now realize that sticks and stones may break your bones but words can break your confidence.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, her words were like poison to my soul and they caused me to doubt my ability to live my dreams when writing, speaking, coaching and artistic expression were always the music that played in my soul.
This professor was a dream killer. And as a result of her poisonous words she made it unsafe for me to dream my biggest, boldest dreams and to utter them out loud. It wasn’t until years later that I learned to shake off her words, replace them with words of self-affirmation and over time I began to dream my biggest dreams again.
When people dismiss your ideas, belittle your dreams or discourage you from pursuing the desires of your heart, they are in fact making it unsafe for you to dream your biggest, boldest dreams. Why? Because a dream needs air and nurturance to thrive. A dream needs to be in an environment where it is fed, supported and encouraged.
Show me a person who has stop believing in their dreams and I’ll show you a person who has experienced a situation along the way where he or she was made to feel foolish, incapable or not special enough to pursue their dreams. And when you are made to feel stupid, incompetent or just not good enough to cut it, then you will not believe that it is safe for you to dream. This is why it is so important that you start standing up for your dreams by putting your dreams out there and that you start taking steps towards achieving your biggest, boldest dreams regardless of what other people think.
With this in mind: What are your biggest boldest dreams? Take out a sheet of paper and write them down. And don’t hold back!
Just for today, imagine that there were no limits to hold you back. What would you do? Would you start that business you’ve always dreamed about? Plan a trip to Europe, Africa or the Caribbean? Would you go back to school? Get a patent for that invention you’ve been toying with? Learn another language? Write your memoirs? Well, the time to do it is now. Not when you lose twenty-five pounds, find the love of your life or when the kids are off on their own. Pursuing your dreams is not a selfish thing. It’s a self-care thing. Plus, when you pursue your dreams no matter where you are in life, you become a living example that it’s never too late to follow your heart.
Believe it or not, your imagination is a powerhouse of possibility. It can be used to create the kind of life that others only dream of. Dream big dreams. Hold a picture in your mind’s eye of you achieving your dreams. Let this be the catalyst for pursuing your passions or at least some of the items on your wish list. Keep thinking about your dreams. Keep talking about your dreams. Then take the necessary steps to move your dream from a fantasy inside your head into a tangible reality. And now that you’ve wrote down your biggest, boldest dreams what do you need to put in place in order to make it safe for you to share your dreams with your loved ones and go after your dreams with bold audacity? Don’t over-think this activity. Just write down what comes to mind for you and trust that you know what YOU need to do in order to feel safe enough to dream your biggest, boldest dreams. You’ve got what it takes to make it! I believe in you!
- Your Reminder – Today is your day to dream out loud. Today is your day to believe and go after your biggest boldest dreams. Today you will make it safe to dream like you have never dreamed before, because your dreams emanate from your gifts, purpose and talents. The bigger the dream, the bigger your purpose. It’s okay to dream your biggest, boldest dreams. You are safe to dream.
- Your Affirmation – Today I am going to give myself permission to step out on faith and dream my biggest, boldest dreams. Today I will not hold back in any way, no matter how big and crazy the dream, I will say it out loud and use this new line of thinking as the catalyst to boldly go after my big and crazy dreams.
