The good news about a new year is that you get to dust off your dreams and pull out some you may have set aside. Just like those boxes in the attic that hold great treasures you can’t quite part with, dreams need to be dusted off, redesigned, and re-imagined.
A dream by its very nature can never be too small to reconsider. A small candle can let off a lot of light. Your dream may seem like a small candle today, but given the right setting, it can send a beam you never thought possible. Walt Disney once said “if you can dream it, you can do it.”
So dream! In fact, dream BIG! Stand in front of the mirror and give voice to your dream. Declare that this is the time for it to come together. Nothing can stop you now because you’re focused and ready to experience a heart-felt idea that you’ve carried for a long time.
What do you need to get started? You need your special dream and then you need to share your dream with at least one other person. Play with the dream, talk about it, give it wings until you both come up with a first step. It’s the first step that is the most important. That’s the step that gets you moving. It’s like stepping onto the escalator, once you’re on it, nothing can keep you from getting to the top.
You can also write your dream in great big letters and put it somewhere that causes you to think about it and imagine it all the time. Embroider it on a pillow, or set it as a reminder on your laptop so it pops up every day, or make a little note to yourself and carry it in your pocket until the dream comes true. Dreams are surely meant to come true.
Then celebrate your first steps and every time you make a move closer to achieving your dream, reward yourself. If your dream was a board game, you’d walk one space for every little thing you do to reach the goal. Since it’s your dream board, you can walk as quickly or as carefully as you want. You can even stand still for a turn or two as you contemplate all your choices. You’ve come this far though, and have made a commitment so it’s your time to win.
Before you even get to the goal, imagine how you will feel when you win the game. Picture the outcome, prepare for the celebration. Embrace the opportunity and keep walking and talking.
Can you do it? Of course! Is it easy? Perhaps not! Only you know why the dream is important to you. Only you can bring it to life. It’s not too late. It’s there, perhaps needing a new form, but waiting for you to lift it gently out of the box, enjoy the beauty of it, and make it happen. As one writer put it, “In dreams and in love there are no impossibilities.”
