How to Find Your Own Big Dream (even when you're unsure if living your dreams is possible)

This is a guest post by the wonderful Iris, creator of Bright Little Socks, to help you to find your own big dream. Thank you so much, Iris, for your inspiring words!

Deep inside most of us believe that living our dreams is possible. Maybe not for us, but we've heard about those lucky few who get to do work they love in the media. People like Coco Chanel, Johnny Depp or J.K. Rowling are living the dreams of many.
The sad truth is that most of us feel like only celebrities get to live their dreams. Everyday people like you and me? No way.

I'm on a mission to disprove that common assumption and help people create lives they love.

You've probably heard about Vanessa's project Thirty. Maybe you've wondered if you too could go out there and claim to live your dreams. Well, absolutely! I'm here today to show you the first step to creating a life you love: Finding your very own big dream.  

The first step to living your dreams is... having a dream. Duh!

Most of us don't live our dreams, because we don't even know what dream to go after.
What if I told you that the answer lies within you, and that it's fairly easy to uncover it? Would you believe me?

The key to finding your biggest dream: Know yourself   

 

A dream is nothing external that we have to chase down and find outside of ourselves. Dreams are made of a mixture of your passions, your values, your experiences and strengths. And those are all internal things. That's why it's fruitless to go on a quest to find your dream. It's not so much about finding, but uncovering the dram that is hidden inside yourself. Ok, I get it, this may all sound a bit woo woo. You're probably asking yourself... 

Do you want me to take a year off and go on a self-discovery trip like Liz in 'Eat Pray Love'?

 

Though that might be fun, you don't really have to do that. Uncovering your dream can be as simple as asking yourself some deep questions. I'm going to share two of the most powerful ones with you that I've seen work for clients and friends time and time again:  

"What would you do if you knew you could not fail?" and "What do you love so much that you would pay to do it every single day?" 

When you can answer these two simple questions in all honesty, you're starting to uncover your life's biggest dreams. Now I don't say that answering these questions is easy. But here's the deal: It's worth it. If you want to live a life that fulfills you and that you're proud to look back upon when you're 84, living your dream is not an option. It's a must. How to uncover your biggest dreams. To make it less scary to answer these two big questions, I came up with a simple step by step exercise you can do to uncover your dreams.

Step 1: Go somewhere quiet where you know you won't be interrupted.

Make yourself some tea, get your favorite blanket and lock the door. Tell everyone you don't want to be disturbed for at least 30 minutes. You need some quiet time for this one. 

Step 2: Write.

Writing your thoughts down can be an easy yet powerful way to get clear on what you want. Grab your favorite pen and your journal, then write the first question on an empty page:

"What would you do if you knew you could not fail?" 

Now let your thoughts flow. Go crazy. Anything goes. Here's what's important: Don't try to analyze or organize your thoughts as you write them down. You want your writing to be as pure and uncensored as possible. Otherwise it will be easy for your rational mind to take over and tell you that you're a complete fool to even dare think about such bold dreams. Write, write, write until you feel like you don't have anything left to say. Now do the same again for the second question:

"What do you love so much that you would pay to do it every single day?" 

Again, let your thoughts run wild. Don't try to come up with reasonable things. Just let yourself be as creative, foolish and fantastic as you are.

 Step 3: Read. Don't freak. 

By now you've probably got a few scribbled pages full of weird phantasies, big dreams and things that generally seem completely unrealistic and unattainable. Now it's important to keep calm and stick to it. Don't freak out, don't judge yourself. No matter how crazy your dreams may sound, you can't do this exercise wrong as long as your being completely honest about what you desire.

Step 4: Let it sink. 

So what? You're probably wondering what to do with these pages now.

First, take a deep breath. Again, try not to judge yourself for dreaming so big. If you haven't been dreaming for a while, it might feel a bit uncomfortable to make such bold claims as "I want to be an actress" or "I want to make my own jewelry and live by the beach", even if it's in your journal and for your eyes only.

The most important thing going forward is that you don't bury thee dreams you've just uncovered. Take them serious. Read them often, and let your thoughts get used to the beauty of possibility that you've just created. And when you're ready, you can go on a journey just like Vanessa to make some of your dreams a reality. What do you think, will you try this out?

What are your thoughts on finding and living your dreams?

"Iris believes that our world needs people who live like they mean it. That's why she founded Bright Little Socks as a way to inspire, empower and motivate potential rebels to create lives they care about. "

 


 

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