Bet On Yourself. . . .15 Tips to Start Living Your Dream Today

Hi Everyone,

This is my third post in the Bet On Yourself series. Today’s focus is Living Your Dream Life. I have talked to so many who are not living the life they want. They are waiting to finish something, get enough money or in reality believe that their dreams are possible. Can you say that you are living a Bountiful Life, YOUR dream life? If not, why not?

Do you ever imagine the end of your life and where you might end up? Do you think you will end up in a happy place, having lived the life of your dreams? With this in mind, comes the reality that you will only be given one chance to live the life of your dreams. There won’t be a second chance, this isn’t a dress rehearsal. The best and most exciting adventure you can take is one where you live the life of your dreams, your best life!

If your life ended with your next breath, would you be able to say that you had lived a life of your dreams, a Bountiful Life, or would you have more regrets than fulfilment?  The past year, 2020, has been one in which many worked from home and sheltered in place. We spent a lot of time inside. Did you use that extra time inside wisely or did you spend most of it binge watching tv shows and movies?

2020 provided an opportunity for us to explore reaching out to begin something new. We had plenty of time to plan how we might begin living out our dream life. Did you take advantage of that opportunity? If not, why are you in a holding mode?

People everywhere seem to be waiting for something to happen before they can begin living their dream life. This is a mistake. Now is the time to begin making things happen. This past year has made it very clear that life is short and that we must take action now. Many lost their lives before they had the chance to really live it fully. Some had lived a long life, but not necessarily a fulfilled life.

Many times, we procrastinate about when is the best time to live the life of our dreams. We put it off. Much research has been done about why we procrastinate. We are all guilty of putting things off. I have done it and it frustrates me to no end. When I finally make the move, I wonder what was I waiting for.

Why does today never seem like the absolute best time to follow our dreams?

Why does later always seem like it will be better in some way? Why do we imagine tomorrow, as if something will happen to us overnight or in the morning, that will finally give us the miracle of extra time or enough of whatever it is that we think we need to follow our dreams?

You might be short on time or money, but there are still things you can do to get started. Let today be the day you start to make your dreams come true! Start living that Bountiful Life of your dreams today. . . .

Use these 15 tips to begin living your dream:

1. Realize that life gets shorter each day. It’s easy to believe that you’ll have time to do what you really want to do after the kids finish school, you have a better job, you’re retired, or have more money in the bank. The truth is, there will never be a perfect time to start living your dreams.
   The amount of time we all have left gets shorter each day. Time is the most valuable resource of wealthy and successful people. It’s also the most valuable resource of the average person, but the average person doesn’t realize it.

2. Define your dream. Have a crystal-clear objective of what you’re trying to achieve. It’s not enough to have a vague idea. A vague idea isn’t motivating enough to keep you going when faced with obstacles. It’s important to have a clear picture you can keep going back to when challenges arise.
   
3. Work backwards. It won’t be possible to take one step from where you are to the end. There will be many steps along the way. The important thing is to find something you can do today. Keep working back from the endpoint until you find something you can accomplish right now and get busy working on it.
   
4. Do a little each day. A little each day turns into a lot over time. Cutting a few calories each day can result in a lot of weight loss over a year. Adding a piece or two to the wood pile each day is a lot of wood after a year. Writing a few pages each day brings you closer to the publication of the book you want to write.
   
   You can probably reach your dreams without spending eight hours each day on it. Just do something each day.
   
5. Deal with limiting beliefs. The primary reason you don’t already have everything you want is limiting beliefs. Limiting beliefs are one of the major causes of procrastination. There are many forms of limiting beliefs:
   
   • It’s going to take too much time.
   • It’s too hard.
   • I don’t have enough money to get started.
   • People won’t approve.
   • I’m too tired.
   • I can start next year.
     Any thought that prevents you from getting started is a limiting belief.

6. Ignore the people that get in your way. There’s always someone trying to get in your way, or get in your way. It might be a family member, friend, neighbor, or anonymous person online. You have to be strong enough to ignore those people and stick to your plan. You can have the last laugh.
   
7. Focus on the things you can control. There aren’t too many things you can actually control. However, it makes no sense to spend your time, energy, and focus worried about things outside of your control. Keep your attention where it can make a difference.
   
8. Celebrate victories. A long journey is easier with a few pleasant experiences along the way. Celebrate your progress regularly. It will be easier to reach the finish line.

9. Take a moment now to assess your lack of action.  What’s stopping you from following the dreams that you’ve buried deep in your heart? Be honest with yourself..

• Make a list, really analyze the reasons.
• Review your list and ask yourself: “Are these true? Or are they just the limiting beliefs that I’m listening to that are constantly spinning in my head?”
• Find some way to develop a counter-punch to limiting beliefs that will help solve them and put them to rest for good. You owe yourself that much.

10. Think in Possibilities and not Limitations Life is limitless. The moment we start to think otherwise we start to put restraints on ourselves and our abilities. Too many people limit their potential because they don’t want to spend the time it requires to get to where they want to be. They focus too much on the limitations of what they have which holds them back from the possibilities of what could be.

11. Put away the Phone and Be Present. We live in a world where we spend much of our time on Twitter reading a tweet about somebody’s meal, on Instagram to see a picture of that meal and on Facebook to hear about the person who served the meal and all the details. How about being more present with the people in our lives? The moment we can disconnect ourselves from technology and reconnect on a personal level we should notice a change. Embrace being present and embrace being with those who are physically around you.

12. Make the Best of Every Situation. Challenges should be embraced. Each day you will be met with a combination of challenges and opportunities. Some will be stressful, some will be easy, if you can meet each with optimism and make the decision and commitment to being happy; you will fall in love with life. Embrace your positive thoughts and surround yourself with positive people. Let the possibilities of every situation inspire you and keep moving forward.

13. Choose Happiness over Everything Else. If you can find joy in simple things, you can find it in everything.  Learn to experience happiness without a reason and you can create happiness for any reason. Happiness and joy are not always the result of good things, often they are the cause of good things.  Happiness is a choice.  Let go of the worries of what may or may not be.  Focus instead on the good things that you can give, create, and choose to experience, right now.  Don’t allow negativity that may be around you to pull you down.  Choose to transform the world around you with your own positivity.

14. Be Comfortable Being Uncomfortable. When you do things that are outside your comfort zone, great outcomes will be met on the other side While it sounds like a cliché’, the idea that “with great risk comes great reward” is an idea that needs to be embraced. This will allow you to start chasing the life of your dreams with your eyes focused on the prize. The greatest human accomplishments are reached from those who start from an uncomfortable place.  

15. Be Less Busy but More Productive. Stop celebrating the fact that you’re busy. Many times, being busy is simply activity that gets us nowhere. Instead of working harder or more, work smarter. Work on things that will actually allow you to move towards living your dream life. Identify what you’re hoping to accomplish from a goal perspective and chase it.

What’s really stopping you from being your best self and living your dream life?

Now that you have some tips on the best way to go forward and get to where you want to be, take a step! The time to live your dream life is NOW!

It’s never too late, or too early to begin living your dream. Each second that passes by is a second you’ll never get back. There’s not a good reason to wait any longer. The time to begin living your dream is right now.

“It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth – and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up – that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.”

~Elizabeth Kubler-Ross~

“Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination.”

~Mae Jemison~

“The only thing worse than starting something and failing … is not starting something.”

~Seth Godin~

Your Future Pilot to Transformation,

BA Design ~ MA Ed ~ Certified Life Coach ~ Workshop Facilitator