We all have dreams. They start with a simple idea and soon grow into a possibility. And as time goes on, they begin to feel more and more real. We even start to believe that they could actually happen. We really begin to see ourselves living our dreams. We can almost taste them they seem so real.
Our dreams are our passions met with action. We take all of our talents that are swirling around inside of us, and we map out a plan of how we can put these talents to good use.
So often, we have a great idea and even map it out, but we forget to take action steps to make it happen – to bring it to life. So many of us are sitting on our dreams waiting for them to come true. But what we need to remember is that we have to make them come true. We are in control of our own destiny – we hold the key to our own happiness.
If we want to bring something into our life, we have to make room by letting go of something else.
I have found in my own life that many of my dreams remain in my head and heart unless I make room for them. I have to clear out some space in order for them to blossom. Before I can even think about nurturing them, giving them energy and love, and setting them into motion, I have to take a hard look at my life and see what I can get rid of in order to give this new part of me – this dream – space to grow.
And this process isn’t always the easiest. Saying goodbye to certain parts of yourself or certain comforts and securities in your life can be painful. Even if you know that you need and want to let go of them in order to come into your essence – your best life – you still have to go through the grieving process and say goodbye.
I have been learning this in my own life as I continue the transition from crafter to writer. Today I said goodbye to a website that has brought in hundreds of wholesale accounts for our company over the last seven years. I feel both excited and scared at the same time. When we step into our dream – our true selves – all sorts of emotions are bound to surface. The reason I did this was because I have clearly laid out a vision for my dream. And I know that in this vision I spend my days writing and inspiring. Making products is no longer a part of this plan. It used to be, but dreams change. And while I am grateful to have been a crafter and owned my own business and been successful at it, I feel in my soul that it is no longer my passion. I am making room for my new life to emerge – I am slowly saying goodbye to these parts of my old life that no longer fit into my dream.
Now It’s Your Turn
Think about one dream – we all have them. It could be anything that you wish for your life. And now imagine that you are living it. Picture yourself in it – however that looks. Feel it, see it, smell it, taste it. Be there.
And now come back to the present and look at your life right now. Choose one thing that is a part of your life now that isn’t a part of your dream life. Is this something that you can let go of? (You don’t have to start with the hardest thing to release. I would suggest starting with letting go of something small to begin with so you don’t overwhelm yourself. Setting yourself up for success is so important!)
I began my own letting go process almost one year ago, and the process will continue until I am fully on board with my dream and ready to commit all of the way. But I am slowly making room for this new life, and I encourage you to begin this process as well.
Remembering that we need to take action to live our dreams is crucial. Now all we have to do is take the first step, make some room, and get ready to soar!
New follower stopping by from the VB GFC following. I hope you have a great week.
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Welcome! I’m so glad you’re here! 🙂
Serious food for thought Jodi and very inspirational. I wish you success as you pursue new dreams.
Thanks, Judy! 🙂
I wish you the best on your journey. I admire your courage and your commitment. I’m a grateful new follower and am looking forward to reading more.
Dayna
Thanks so much, Dayna. I’m so glad you’re here!
“Our dreams are our passions met with action.”–I love this! It sums it up perfectly.
Thank you so much, Kelly! 🙂
Love positive affirmation and visualisation techniques. They really work, like cosmic ordering. Great thought provoking post.
Thanks
Dianne
YONKS
Thanks so much, Dianne! You’re exactly right – I love the metaphor of seeing the universe as a big catalog that we get to order from. Amazing how many choices we have! 🙂
Inspiring post, as always!
One of my dreams is to phase into semi-retirement, to allow more time for family and creative pursuits. Letting go is the hard part. But our hours have been cut recently, and I find that rather than thinking of this as a “pay cut,” I’m thinking of it as a gift of free time — a rare and precious commodity.
I think your attitude is so inspiring, LeAnn. You could easily have gone the other way and focused on all of the reasons why your hours being cut was a bad thing. Kudos to you for seeing it as an opportunity to explore your dreams – free time definitely is a wonderful gift! 🙂
This post really spoke to me. I used to co-own an arts and crafts business with my sister but we let it die to become teachers (steady salary needed as a single mom).
Now I’m self-publishing my first book and have such a desire to sell my art. Yet, I’m hesitant because of what you described so perfectly, “I have found in my own life that many of my dreams remain in my head and heart unless I make room for them.” I”ve made room for my writing and art but fearful of cluttering this open space with selling items. What was your business?
Hi JoDee,
It sounds like you can definitely relate to what I’m feeling now. I hear you and know how taking this leap can be scary but also exhilarating at the same time! My husband and I started our business in 2005 – it’s called This Is It! Creations. We started out making ecogifts – journals, jewelry, and cards and evolved into writing and making Soulful Journals. At one point, we had over 500 products in our collections – it was a bit crazy! Now we are down to just the bestsellers, which include our Soulful Journals (http://www.soulfuljournals.com). We are in the process of having these printed instead of making them ourselves. You can see some of our other products in our Etsy shop (http://www.thisisit.etsy.com). I think it’s really great that you have already cleared space for your writing and art – that’s so wonderful!
This is an excellent thought provoking post. I have a dream and I need to get going on it before time completely removes the possibility. Thanks for the beautiful reminder! ~Hugs, M
Thank you so much! It’s a great reminder for both of us to get out there and start living our dreams! So glad you’re here! 🙂
Very inspirational. Thanks for sharing
I really like this. I do think I’m going to take my turn and star lettig go of things that don’t fit my dreams. I’ll probably write about it and will let you know when I do.
Thanks for linking up for flashback Friday. Link up every Friday on Chasing-joy.com
Please do – I would love to read it! 🙂
Stopped by from Lady Blogger Social Tea Party and wanted to tell you I enjoyed your
“soul” dream advice. Your blog stirred my re thinking what I would do for one of my dreams. Of course, let go of things that stand in the way. Sounds easy, but isn’t.
My dreams must take priority over other un essential activities. Thanks
Hi Carol! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂 I would love to hear more about what you decide to do for your dream. Please come back and share!
So very true…. this reminds me of a talk I recently attended. The speaker shared the difference between an idea and a goal. An idea is that dream that bounced around in your head. A goal is what you decide to do about it.
Visiting from the Lady Blogger Social Tea today and glad to have read this post.
Hi Laura – thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂 I am definitely full of ideas, and I’m working on turning them into goals. 😉
Stopping in from the LBS tea party… and really glad I did. What powerful words! Reminds me of another quote that every new beginning is an old beginning’s end… or something like that.
Thank you so much for stopping by! 🙂