The Key of Dreaming

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By: Jessica Manuel

I enjoy surrounding myself with people that have vision and purpose, dreaming of doing something big. It encourages the same fire in me.

FACT: If you work on too many projects, you risk never be proud of them. It’s important to dream but even more valuable to know the big picture. Take a moment to think about where you spend most of your time, are these choices complimenting the next ten years? Are there things you should be saying ‘no’ to?

My journey was (and still is) one of self-discovery. I would commit to things that I thought were important only to find out that it wasn’t what I wanted. I would move from one job to the next trying to find myself, seasons changed and so did my relationships or desires.

This is all a part of maturing and learning, but what if I had spent more time dreaming?

I learned the hard way that it is better to give up that project, job, relationship… Whatever it was if my heart wasn’t fully in it. It wasn’t mature or wise to invest in projects that only had a partial commitment, or would compliment the season I was in. In order to be proud of myself and my accomplishments, I needed to clearly define my dream, first.

The pre-dreaming stage is similar to “drifting” like a bag. I would sway wherever the most wind was blowing during that season. When a storm came I would lay flat, weighed down by the rain. I would go through times when I would drift high and fast, pumped up and excited, but it would take anything to take me off course and start traveling ‘South’.

I am not the only one that allows this to happen. Most of us are pulled in many different directions because we are unsure of how to reach our dreams. We take on smaller, easier projects (I call these bandaids) instead of proactively planning our next step.

We make cautious steps to avoid risk, failure or disappointment. We take the ‘zest” out of life because we’ve allowed the clouds of doubt or the trees in our path to discourage us from trying.

Committing to and envisioning a future, understanding your desires, and nurturing that passion can change everything. If you’re fired up about an idea or mission the rain will not hold you to the ground and the birds stay out of your way. Your vision is so clear that you’re just going for it. 

You are no longer flying like a bag, you’re flying like an airplane.

If you’re a dreamer like me, you know that big ideas result in failure along the way. If you’re a true dreamer and are finding the beauty in failure, you would agree that it’s worth putting some holes in the bag instead of sitting on a branch.

I challenge you today, do you know what your heart really wants? If you wanted to do something to change the world or the people around you what would it be?

Make that vision so clear that you could taste it, feel it and eventually crave it. Then break it down into small steps. Know that it won’t be easy, but resistance will allow to embrace the successful seasons — There is always sunshine after the storm.

An airplane takes off by going against the wind — Success is no different.