How to Fulfill Your Dream
Try new things., Decide what’s important., Narrow your focus., Do your research., Make goals.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Try new things.
You may not know what your dreams are, or they might be vague and unsubstantial.
That's okay! Trying out new things is a great way to find things that you love.
It can help introduce you to people and ideas that will be important in fulfilling your dreams.
Do things that you might not normally do.
If your idea of a perfect afternoon is sitting at home reading a book, try going on a hike one afternoon instead, or take a cooking class.
The more things that you try, the more likely you will find the things that really fire your interest.
You can get a good idea about certain things if you take on a volunteering position in an organization you're interested in.
Volunteering is a great way to get experience without too much expectation. -
Step 2: Decide what’s important.
It's hard to know how to achieve a dream if you're not entirely sure what it is you want to make happen.
Think hard about what you love to do, what makes you passionate, what invigorates you.
This is the time when you can be vague and unspecific.
Think of it like brainstorming.Consider what makes you feel fulfilled.
Is it singing in front of an audience? Is it saving the whales? Is it imparting knowledge or reading massive piles of books? Is it researching folk music? Consider where you'd rather be when you're at work, or at school? If there were no obstacles or possibility of failure what is it you'd like to be doing? Create space to consider these ideas.
While it's great to try things out with other people and ask others for their opinions on what you enjoy.
Do things by yourself so you can fully experience things and decide for yourself if they fit into your ideas for your dreams., Once you have large and somewhat vague ideas about what you'd like to do, it's time to narrow your focus so you can actually achieve these dreams.
The more specific you are, the easier it will be to set a timeline and goals to achieve your dream.Remember that fulfilling your dream can come ways you may not expect.
For example, if your dream is to make music, instead of playing at big venues, you turn your music making ability towards teaching underprivileged children or using it to ease people who are terminally ill.You don't necessarily have to turn your dream into a job.
You can do your dream on the side of your job (for example, doing volunteer work for an environmental conservation group).
Your dream could be climbing the highest mountain on each continent, or running a 12k marathon.
And, as always, you can have more than one.
After all, most people don't just settle on one dream, but work towards fulfilling multiple dreams. , Once you have an idea, or more than one idea, of what dreams you want to accomplish, it's time to start looking into how to accomplish them.
If you plunge into achieving your dream without researching the best ways to achieve it, then you're more likely to lose momentum and not succeed.
Talk to someone who has achieved the type of thing you want to.
For example, if climbing the highest mountain on every continent, you might read the autobiographies or journals of people who have climbed those mountains.
You might even try to get in contact with some of them to see if they have any tips on how to make your success more likely.
Look into what you'll need to do to achieve your dreams.
If your dream is to run a 12k marathon, you'll need to look into what kind of training you need, and what sort of time you need to achieve.
If your dream is to become an archaeologist, you'll need to look into what kind of requirements your specific area will require, how much schooling and what types of schooling.
Don't be discouraged if it seems like your goal is going to entail a lot of hard work, and/or money.
That doesn't mean that it isn't possible and if you get discouraged at the beginning, you'll never manage to achieve it.
Most people don't achieve their goals because they sabotage themselves with worry about money or time., Once you have some idea what your dreams are going to require, you will need to make specific goals and time-frames that will help you keep on track.
This doesn't mean that things won't change.
You will still need to be flexible, but it will give you a good idea what kind of work, money, and time is going to be needed.
Make a list of goals, both big and small: for example, if your goal was to be an archaeologist, your list of goals might be something like "write thesis, learn Greek and Latin, complete undergraduate degree in History and Archaeology, get into good graduate program, get PHd specifically focused on life in Roman small towns, go on an archaeological dig, acquire own dig, get job at a museum." Set a timeline.
This timeline will have the big goals and the small goals.
To use the above example, the small goals might be things like turning in important essays or writing your resume.
The big goals would be things like graduating with your Bachelor's, or going on an archaeological dig to see if that's really what you want to do or if you actually want to be a historian or professor.
It bears repeating, things will change.
You will have to be flexible.
You might end up underestimating the time it will take to achieve certain of your dreams, or you may realize halfway through that you actually want to do something else.
That's okay! The goal is that you end up feeling fulfilled. -
Step 3: Narrow your focus.
-
Step 4: Do your research.
-
Step 5: Make goals.
Detailed Guide
You may not know what your dreams are, or they might be vague and unsubstantial.
That's okay! Trying out new things is a great way to find things that you love.
It can help introduce you to people and ideas that will be important in fulfilling your dreams.
Do things that you might not normally do.
If your idea of a perfect afternoon is sitting at home reading a book, try going on a hike one afternoon instead, or take a cooking class.
The more things that you try, the more likely you will find the things that really fire your interest.
You can get a good idea about certain things if you take on a volunteering position in an organization you're interested in.
Volunteering is a great way to get experience without too much expectation.
It's hard to know how to achieve a dream if you're not entirely sure what it is you want to make happen.
Think hard about what you love to do, what makes you passionate, what invigorates you.
This is the time when you can be vague and unspecific.
Think of it like brainstorming.Consider what makes you feel fulfilled.
Is it singing in front of an audience? Is it saving the whales? Is it imparting knowledge or reading massive piles of books? Is it researching folk music? Consider where you'd rather be when you're at work, or at school? If there were no obstacles or possibility of failure what is it you'd like to be doing? Create space to consider these ideas.
While it's great to try things out with other people and ask others for their opinions on what you enjoy.
Do things by yourself so you can fully experience things and decide for yourself if they fit into your ideas for your dreams., Once you have large and somewhat vague ideas about what you'd like to do, it's time to narrow your focus so you can actually achieve these dreams.
The more specific you are, the easier it will be to set a timeline and goals to achieve your dream.Remember that fulfilling your dream can come ways you may not expect.
For example, if your dream is to make music, instead of playing at big venues, you turn your music making ability towards teaching underprivileged children or using it to ease people who are terminally ill.You don't necessarily have to turn your dream into a job.
You can do your dream on the side of your job (for example, doing volunteer work for an environmental conservation group).
Your dream could be climbing the highest mountain on each continent, or running a 12k marathon.
And, as always, you can have more than one.
After all, most people don't just settle on one dream, but work towards fulfilling multiple dreams. , Once you have an idea, or more than one idea, of what dreams you want to accomplish, it's time to start looking into how to accomplish them.
If you plunge into achieving your dream without researching the best ways to achieve it, then you're more likely to lose momentum and not succeed.
Talk to someone who has achieved the type of thing you want to.
For example, if climbing the highest mountain on every continent, you might read the autobiographies or journals of people who have climbed those mountains.
You might even try to get in contact with some of them to see if they have any tips on how to make your success more likely.
Look into what you'll need to do to achieve your dreams.
If your dream is to run a 12k marathon, you'll need to look into what kind of training you need, and what sort of time you need to achieve.
If your dream is to become an archaeologist, you'll need to look into what kind of requirements your specific area will require, how much schooling and what types of schooling.
Don't be discouraged if it seems like your goal is going to entail a lot of hard work, and/or money.
That doesn't mean that it isn't possible and if you get discouraged at the beginning, you'll never manage to achieve it.
Most people don't achieve their goals because they sabotage themselves with worry about money or time., Once you have some idea what your dreams are going to require, you will need to make specific goals and time-frames that will help you keep on track.
This doesn't mean that things won't change.
You will still need to be flexible, but it will give you a good idea what kind of work, money, and time is going to be needed.
Make a list of goals, both big and small: for example, if your goal was to be an archaeologist, your list of goals might be something like "write thesis, learn Greek and Latin, complete undergraduate degree in History and Archaeology, get into good graduate program, get PHd specifically focused on life in Roman small towns, go on an archaeological dig, acquire own dig, get job at a museum." Set a timeline.
This timeline will have the big goals and the small goals.
To use the above example, the small goals might be things like turning in important essays or writing your resume.
The big goals would be things like graduating with your Bachelor's, or going on an archaeological dig to see if that's really what you want to do or if you actually want to be a historian or professor.
It bears repeating, things will change.
You will have to be flexible.
You might end up underestimating the time it will take to achieve certain of your dreams, or you may realize halfway through that you actually want to do something else.
That's okay! The goal is that you end up feeling fulfilled.
About the Author
Christopher Morales
Committed to making crafts accessible and understandable for everyone.
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