I think all of us, well at least most of us, have dreams in life. Each dream can be different, there is not one blueprint. It can take time to figure out what your dreams are. If you really take a deep look inside at what your heart is telling you, I think this is how we can work out what God has called us to do. But don’t worry if you are struggling with this, just keep persisting and asking God to reveal to you your purpose.
So, what if you already know what your dreams are but you’re not pursuing them (yet)? Firstly, I wrote another blog post telling you what’s really holding you back – check it out if you want to find out!
Secondly, unfortunately, people often get dampened by others’ opinions and judgements. People may patronise you, belittle your dreams, tell you that you don’t know what you’re doing and that your dreams are unrealistic or impossible.
People tell you that your goals are not realistic or possible because they don’t believe it’s possible for them to do it. They see the world through a limited lens. I want to encourage you right now to not carry other people’s limits with you.
I also want to remind you of a huge reason why you should not let other people’s opinions and judgements stop you from following your dreams. They don’t have to live your life. They don’t have to live with the consequences of your decisions. You do. So, if you choose not to follow your dreams and settle for things that are less than what you are capable of, then you are the one who is going to feel unfulfilled and lacking, not them. They can give all the opinions they want, but at the end of the day, that’s as far as they go because they do not actually have to live your life. So, please make decisions that you truly believe in.
If you’re contemplating following your dreams, whether that’s starting a business, starting a family, moving countries, becoming an actor/actress or artist etc. but you’re not sure if you should do it, please listen to this. A great way to figure out if you should go for it or not is to imagine 10 or 20 years in the future and ask yourself “will I regret not trying?”
Regret is not something you want. Now listen, you might think that your dream goal is so far away from where you are now, but you ought to remember that the pain of regret is much worse than the pain of discipline.
Now, I know you might well have a fear of failure so you are going to need to change your perception of failure. A lot of people see failure as the end, as proof that their dream is not realistic, or that they are simply not capable. Firstly, God will not have given you a dream and purpose if you were not capable of it. So, try to start believing in yourself more. Secondly, if you “fail” at something, that does not mean that it’s never going to work. Sometimes you just have to change your approach. There’s this great quote from Francis Chan that says...
“Our greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter”
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. And even if you think it’s so far away, remember that the process is the most enjoyable, rewarding, and challenging part. So, don’t try to rush past the process, fully enjoy the ride of working towards something.
I hope I have encouraged you to really start considering following your dreams. And if you ever start doubting yourself, come back to this post and read it again.
And finally, I want to leave you with a quote from Jim Carrey...
"If you give up on our dreams, what's left?"
All the best,
Danielle
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