Dreams Start in Reality

859 Days to Complete 101 Dreams Come True

I'm still flip-flopping between India and S. America. The friend who's going to India will contact me in a few days with her itinerary. It turns out if I'm to join her I will need to leave by February 10th which is only a few weeks away. But now, my friend who originally wanted to go to S. America is saying he might still be able to go and that trip may be on. I'm meeting him this afternoon to discuss it. So hopefully by Friday I will have definite plans for one or the other.

On a different note, I've been thinking a lot about my responsibility to the people who look at my blog and website. I believe in going after dreams, but one must start in the present moment. Where a person stands financially, emotionally, and physically should be the jumping off place, not the dream.

The financial crisis in America was caused by dreams not based in reality. Too many people went out and bought homes, cars, went on trips, with the idea of living a lifestyle promoted on television and amongst friends that wasn't real. The housing boom wasn't based on actual numbers. I remember looking at the median housing price and the median incomes and nothing matched up, yet people were buying homes they couldn't afford. As the prices increased these same people were feeling wealthy with their equity and took out bigger loans to take fancy vacations to make their dreams reality.

There is also the wishful thinker. The person who sees the future they desire and expects it to come true. They see others who have achieved the same dream and they assume it will happen for them because they can envision their life. The Secret says to live as if it has already happened and many people have done this, but by living off credit or waiting for that perfect scenario to take place that matches their ideal.

I believe that meditating and visualizing your goals should always be the first step to having the life you desire. If you don't know where you want to go, there's no way to make a map to get there. But once this is done, a person has to look at what is holding them back from having this dream whether it's fear, past emotions, finances, health, or a bad situation. When the barriers are seen and the starting point established many will turn around due to the hard work involved. So many people don't want to look at reality for fear of how hard it will be to get out.

Say you wanted to be a surgeon. First you need the education and that takes years. Then you need to graduate and do your practical hours. All the while you are dreaming of being this great surgeon like the ones you've seen on television or read about in books, and you keep your eye on the prize. All the hard work and money is going to pay off because someday you will live in a fancy house, you'll be wealthy, and have the stunning partner and family. All the time you are working towards your goal you're mind is living in the future not facing the present moment.

Then you finish all the work and you end up with a low-paying job that can barely pay the student loans. You're working long hours, you still don't have a relationship, and you don't know where the last seven years went. Now you're frustrated, angry, and you feel like the universe jipped you.

This is how most people go through life when they pursue their dreams. They live in the illusion of someday and a vision of themselves in the future instead of where they are at the moment. This only leads to destruction. When you get to the point of that low-paying job that doesn't live up to the dream you end up quitting - accepting that life sucks. If during the time you were going after your dreams you were enjoying the moment, living to the maximum, then you would have the energy to keep going when you hit the speed bump of the low paying job.

Another example is weight-loss. You envision yourself healthy and happy in a pair of skinny jeans. You workout hard, eat perfectly, and keep your mind on a certain date that you will be perfect. On this date you'll begin to live again: dancing, going to the reunion, going on vacation, finding the perfect partner. When this date comes and goes and there isn't the perfection you envisioned depression sinks in and you lose momentum most of the time slipping back.

Dreams are about living to the fullest. They aren't about someday or when everything is perfect. They can't be timed. But you can live in the now accepting the greatness that life can bring in this moment. Maybe you want the dream vacation but you're over your head in credit card debt. Well set the plan to get out of the debt. Is that fun? Not as much fun as living as if it didn't exist, but that doesn't move you closer to living the life you desire. Maybe you get the second job that isn't prestigious but it will pay off your debt faster.

Most people don't want to do the work, take the risk, or keep going when things work out differently than planned. But when you start from reality, work hard, the rewards are much sweeter.