Allow me to cheer you on in becoming your biggest fan
I don’t know if it comes from me listening to Taylor Swift’s “Me” on repeat for the past week or if it has to do with the journey I have personally been on, but dreaming big and coming to a place of believing in, not just myself, but my ability to see my dreams come true has been a common theme for me of late. I believe every one of us has something to offer this world, but too often we simply cut ourselves short because we cannot understand how our dreams can become reality. How many of you have had the question asked: “If money was no option what would you like to be doing with your life?” Think carefully about your answer to that question. What about your answer is important to you? What would it mean for you if you never achieved that in your life?
I’m not going to talk about becoming rich I want to talk about something even better, being empowered and living a life of fulfillment.
A starting point for dreaming…big
I think dreaming about what we can accomplish in our lives comes from a special place inside, a place that brings us purpose, meaning, and value in life. Start by asking yourself: What brings fulfillment in life? Look back over your life and see the common threads. Have you always liked working in a team with people, or mentoring youth, or problem-solving? When you can identify the patterns in your life its easier to see the things that have brought you fulfillment, its almost like those things have become an extension of who you already are. Typically what has brought you purpose and meaning in life stays consistent.
Once you have identified what makes you come alive start thinking about how you can do that more. Here is the key for this, don’t think about how you can do this once you get enough money or time or resources, think about how you can do this now. How can you fit this into your life today? If we don’t start doing things on a micro level we use those obstacles as an excuse to justify not doing anything at all. Do not let this cripple you. The person you want to become, be that person today.
Once you start doing things on a micro-level start to dream about you and what you can achieve and the life you can live. A good baseline for dreaming big is if you feel like you can handle it then your probably not dreaming big enough.
My recipe for dreaming big is as follows: Drem big, then hover your mouse over that dream until the little boxes in the corner appears, click and drag on those boxes until that sucker takes up your entire perspective and completely overwhelms your vision.
So what to do with your new-found dream?
Start believing in it. Warning: Easier said than done. When I first thought of things I’d love to “one day do in life” it was easy to believe that someone else, more capable than I, could do those things. How could I possibly do something so big, look at my past, I’ve never done something like this! You can start to feel the pressures of friends and family because by dreaming big your essentially doing something you’ve never done before and the default response to dreamers is typically the “were just concerned is all” response that is given by well-meaning, yet fear-based, people.
How does one shift this mindset? Practically for me, it stated with self-talk and self-visualization. I literally would tell myself (out loud) that I was going to change the world by being apart of something much bigger than myself and thought of what that would look like. At first, it felt so dumb and cliche. I remember feeling embarrassed by myself even though no one was around. The key to this is consistency. You eventually get over the weirdness and start believing what you’re saying. By practicing this you are rewiring the way your brain thinks about you and your relationship to the world. It’s a way to pre-program how and what you think about yourself. Let me ask you this, what would you start saying to yourself?
“Watch your thoughts, they become your words; watch your words, they become your actions; watch your actions, they become your habits; watch your habits, they become your character; watch your character, it becomes your destiny.”- Lao Tzu
My parents were right, I am special
The other day my three-year-old son looked at me and then at our house and with all the confidence in the world said: “You know papa, I could lift this house!” I mean another layer of my love for that kid was found that day, seriously! When he said this I really think he believed he could so I responded: “I bet you could”. The rest of the day he was just smiling and walking around with his chest puffed up as much as a three-year-old could. For some, it may come from self-talk but for my son, at the age of three, all he needed was for his papa to believe with him in his big dream.
Surrounding yourself with other people who can celebrate you and the dreams you have is one of life’s superpowers. I am fully convinced that we are created to have this type of human interaction. There are few things I’ve found that bring as much energy as when I believe in other people. Its amazing to see them start believing in themselves while I can stand beside and be their biggest fan.
Believing in yourself is a reflection of our own individuality. I think this is a fundamental human truth, everyone is special and I believe this is worth celebrating. I think we need to normalize this type of mutual support and belief for one another. It would grow deeper bonds and relationships with those around us while helping ourselves discover this mutually beneficial cycle of support and guidance. Who are the people in your life that you can believe with?
I choo choo choose me
So let me say this: today celebrate YOU! You are more capable than previously imagined. You have purpose, meaning, and value. Dream bigger than you ever have. Why? Because you are worth it! There is something inside you that no one else has but everyone else can benefit from. Do not bottle this up, share your dreams with others and create that team of support. So, what’s inside of you that you have to offer?
Oh and one last thing, go listen to more Taylor Swift!
To read more about eY check out this post: Enabled You- A purpose-driven startup