How To Follow Your Dream; What You Need to Know

In a world filled with possibilities, pursuing dreams is not just a luxury but a necessity. Even so, you may not be sure how to follow your dream into reality.

Something is holding you back. Could it be a lack of finances? Time? Knowledge? Or energy?

But is it time for a change?

Following your dreams allows you to pursue your passion and purpose in life. Having a dream gives you a sense of direction and motivation to work towards something meaningful. It’s about achieving the life you want through personal growth and skill development.

Ultimately, following your dreams is about living a fulfilling life that aligns with your values and aspirations. It’s about taking ownership of your life and creating a future that you’re proud of. So, if you have a dream, don’t be afraid to pursue it with all your heart and soul. The journey may be challenging, but the rewards are immeasurable.

Here’s what you need to know.

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What Holds You Back from Following Your Dream?

Even with the technology, knowledge, and advancements available today, many of us are reluctant to go after the life we truly want. Several factors can prevent us from following our dreams. Here are a few common ones:

1. Fear: Fear of failure, the unknown, or fear of what others may think are frequent barriers to pursuing dreams.
2. Lack of self-belief: If you don’t believe in yourself or your abilities, you may think your dreams are out of reach.
3. Lack of resources: A lack of financial resources, time, or support from others can make it difficult to chase your dreams.
4. Comfort zone: People often get stuck in the safety of their comfort zone and are afraid to take risks outside of it. This uncertainty prevents them from pursuing their dreams.
5. Negative self-talk: Negative self-talk and limiting beliefs will hold you back from pursuing your dreams by creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure.
6. Lack of clarity: If you don’t have a clear vision of what you want to achieve, it’s difficult to take action. You can’t know how to follow your dream when you don’t understand what you want.

Overcoming these barriers requires courage, determination, and an unwavering decision to take action. Identifying and addressing these problems allows you to investigate solutions and devise a plan to overcome them. Once you do this, you will understand how to follow your dream and begin working toward creating a life that you love.

How to Follow Your Dream – Overcoming the Barriers

1. Dealing with Fear

Accept failure as part of the learning process. In reality, failures are often temporary and should be stepping-stones for growth that ensure future success. Therefore, you must create realistic and achievable short and long-term goals for yourself.

Break down your goals into smaller, more manageable sub-goals to make the process less intimidating. Completing each sub-task and checking it off your plan also enables a sense of accomplishment.

2. Overcoming a Lack of Self-Belief

Focus on building self-confidence by acknowledging and celebrating small victories. Surround yourself with a supportive network of friends, mentors, or like-minded individuals.

Invest time in personal development activities, such as skill-building and self-reflection. Try taking a class or volunteering for projects. For example, if you love cooking and want to become a chef, you could sign up for cooking lessons with a local chef or look into culinary school.

3. Combatting a Lack of Resources

Develop a realistic budget and financial plan while learning how to achieve your dream. Seek alternative funding sources, such as grants, scholarships, loans, or crowdfunding.

Consider taking on part-time work, extra work, or freelance opportunities to generate income while working towards your dream. If you have valuable skills or talents, try selling them to raise funds.

4. Willingness to Step Outside Your Comfort Zone

Avoid unnecessary shocks by gradually exposing yourself to new experiences and challenges. Use change as a catalyst for growth and learning. Develop a mindset that views change as an opportunity rather than a threat.

For example, Mary wants to run for city council but is terrified of public speaking. First, Mary could write a speech about a cause close to her heart and practice it in front of friends and family. Next, when she feels comfortable with the smaller group, Mary can begin speaking before larger audiences, such as during her campaign.

Additionally, Mary could consider taking a speech class at the local university.

5. Replace Negative Talk with Positive Talk

Be aware of any tendencies to use negative self-talk. This way of thinking is self-limiting and skews the truth. Negative talk is not fact. Instead, adopt and use positive affirmations. When you catch yourself talking negatively, use these affirmations and remind yourself of the things you’ve done well.

For instance, Jay accidentally missed two math test questions but knew the correct answers. He berated himself, stating, “I’m so dumb, I can’t even take a test right.” Jay’s academic average is a 3.99.

6. Define Your Goals

Lastly, take time for self-reflection to gain clarity regarding your passions and values. Once you have a realistic plan, finalize your goals and go after them. Also, don’t be afraid to seek guidance from mentors or professionals in your field of interest.

How to Follow Your Dream in Seven Steps

To learn how to follow your dreams, you must take action and work hard. Use these steps to guide your path.

1. Define Your Dream

Define your dream and clearly envision what you want to achieve. This involves setting specific goals, creating a vision board, or writing a mission statement. Without a plan, a dream is just a daydream.

2. Believe in Yourself

Explore and identify your passions and strengths. What excites and energizes you? Or makes you want to get out of bed in the morning?

Aligning your dreams with your talents helps ensure long-term success and satisfaction. Have faith in your abilities. And always surround yourself with supportive, encouraging people.

Furthermore, ignore anyone who discourages you from chasing your dream because of their personal issues. Nay-sayer’s negative views often have nothing to do with you.

3. Talk to People Who Are Already Where You Want to Be

Seek out social media groups and online forums in your areas of interest. Or join local business organizations and clubs. Seek out those who are already living your dream and ask questions. Additionally, inquire if anyone is willing to mentor you.

4. Take Action

Take small steps toward your dream every day. For example, do research, learn new skills, try networking, or create a plan of action. Spend time moving forward and working toward achieving your dream on a daily basis.

5. Overcome Obstacles

Identify and address any obstacles or challenges that could arise along the way. Forward-thinking is crucial when learning how to follow your dream. Then, continue to develop new skills, seek support from others, and adjust your plan as needed.

6. Stay Focused

Don’t allow distractions or setbacks to deter you from your path. Keep your vision in mind and stay committed to achieving your goals. Persistence is the gold standard for achieving any goal. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be your dream, would it?

7. Celebrate Your Progress

Celebrate any successes you experience along the way, no matter how small. These celebrations serve as motivation and inspiration to continue pursuing your dreams.

Remain committed to these steps, finding ways to grow, improve, and overcome any obstacles in your way. The path may be steep, but it’s ultimately worth it.

How to Follow Your Dream – Dealing with Setbacks

Unfortunately, setbacks are a natural part of life, and dreams may take some time to achieve. We don’t always get it right the first time. But with determination and a strong will, we can overcome setbacks and use them to achieve our dreams. Try using these tips to deal with setbacks:

1. Reframe your mindset: Mature your thoughts and begin to see setbacks as a necessary part of the journey to success.
2. Take breaks: Sometimes, taking a break can help you gain perspective and come back stronger. It clears out mental cobwebs and makes things feel fresh again.
3. Seek support: Reach out to others for support and advice. Sometimes getting an outside perspective can help you see things in a new light.
4. Revisit your plan: Review your plan frequently and adjust it as needed. As we learn and grow, our abilities and needs adapt and change. Additionally, always be on the lookout for new strategies or approaches for overcoming setbacks.
5. Keep yourself motivated: Stay motivated by focusing on your why – the reason why you started pursuing your dream in the first place. Keep your vision in mind and remain committed to achieving your goals.

Steering the course and practicing vigilant persistence is what gets you to where you want to be. If you remain standing whenever a setback tries to knock you down, you will eventually reach home plate.

Two Women Who Followed Their Dreams

You may find these two success stories encouraging as you chase your dreams:

J K Rowling-Author

Joanne Rowling was a divorced, single mother living in poverty. She relied on public assistance, had no profession, and no means to support herself and her baby daughter.

Yet, the one thing Joanne had wanted to do from the age of six was to write. So, she did.

As depressed as Joanne was at the time (she even confessed to thoughts of suicide) she handwrote her first novel in coffee shops while her daughter slept nearby in a pram.

After 12 rejections, Ms. Rowling finally received her first acceptance letter.

And, along the way to becoming the most famous author in the UK, this author of the Harry Potter series changed her name to JK Rowling.

Just like you, JK had to start somewhere. See writerscollegeblog for more of her story.

Mary Kay Ash-Cosmetics Tycoon

Mary Kay Ash became a salesperson for Stanley Home Products in 1939. Since she was very good at her job, World Gifts lured her away from Stanley in 1952.

At World Gifts, Mary Kay trained a man who subsequently received a promotion and salary increase greater than her own. As a result, Mary Kay quit her job.

Instead of becoming angry and disenchanted, she set out to form her own company.

At the age of 45, with $5000, Mary Kay bought some formulas for skin lotion. Then, she opened her first store with the help of her son.

By the end of her second year, Mary Kay earned nearly 2 million dollars! Currently, over 1.6 million people work for Mary Kay Cosmetics!

Decidedly, the key to Mary Kay’s success was in her business strategy. She created an employee incentive program to internally motivate her salespeople to excel.

For more of Mary Kay’s story, check out biography.com

Wrapping Up How to Follow Your Dream

In conclusion, following your dream is not just about achieving a goal or reaching a destination. It’s about the journey of personal growth, self-discovery, and fulfillment. It means taking ownership of your life and creating a future that aligns with your values and needs.

Remember that your dreams are valid and achievable. Believe in yourself and your abilities. Refuse to listen to naysayers who don’t understand your dreams or try to get in your way. T

Take action towards your goals daily, and don’t let setbacks or obstacles deter you. Surround yourself with the right people to support and encourage you. Then, be sure to celebrate smaller successes along the way.

Now, you know how to follow your dream. Be assured that you have the power to transform your dreams into reality. You can create a life you love.

So go out there and pursue your dreams with all your heart and soul! The world is waiting for you to make your mark and create a positive impact.

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Reference

How To Make Your Dreams Come True in 9 Simple Steps – LifeHack