Everyone,
at some point of his or her life, has dreamed of being somebody
special, somebody big. Who hasn't fantasized about being the one who
hits the game-winning homer? Who hasn't dreamed of being the homecoming
queen? And how many times have we dreamed of being rich, or successful,
or happy with our relationships?
Often, we dream big
dreams and have great aspirations. Unfortunately, our dreams remain just
that – dreams. And our aspirations easily collect dust in our attic.
This
is a sad turn of events in our life. Instead of experiencing exciting
adventures in self actualization, we get caught up in the humdrum of
living from day-to-day just barely existing.
But you know what? Life could be so much better, if only we learned to aim higher.
The
most common problem to setting goals is the word impossible. Most
people get hung up thinking I can't do this. It's too hard. It's too
impossible. No one can do this.
However, if everyone thought that, there would be no inventions, no innovations, and no breakthroughs in human accomplishment.
Remember
that scientists were baffled when they took a look at the humble
bumblebee. Theoretically, they said, it was impossible for the bumblebee
to fly. Unfortunately for the bumble, bee no one has told it so. So fly
it does.
On the other hand, some people suffer from
dreaming totally outrageous dreams and not acting on them. The result?
Broken dreams, and tattered aspirations.
If you limit
yourself with self-doubt, and self-limiting assumptions, you will never
be able to break past what you deem impossible. If you reach too far out
into the sky without working towards your goal, you will find yourself
clinging on to the impossible dream.
Try this exercise.
Take a piece of paper and write down some goals in your life. Under one
header, list down things ‘
you know you can do’. Under another header,
write the things ‘
you might be able to do.’ And under one more, list the
things that that are ‘
impossible for you to do.’
Now
look at all the headers strive every day to accomplish the goals that
are under things ‘you know you can do’. Check them when you are able to
accomplish them. As you slowly are able to check all of your goals under
that heading, try accomplishing the goals under the other header-the
one that reads ‘you might be able to do.’
As of the
items you wrote under things I could do are accomplished, you can move
the goals that are under things that are ‘
impossible for you to do’ to
the list of things ‘
you might be able to do.’
As you
iterate through this process, you will find out that the goals you
thought were impossible become easier to accomplish. And the impossible
begin to seem possible after all.
You see, the
technique here is not to limit your imagination. It is to aim high, and
start working towards that goal little by little. However, it also is
unwise to set a goal that is truly unrealistic.
Those who just dream towards a goal without working hard end up disappointed and disillusioned.
On
the other hand, if you told someone a hundred years ago that it was
possible for man to be on the moon, they would laugh at you. If you had
told them that you could send mail from here to the other side of the
world in a few seconds, they would say you were out of your mind. But,
through sheer desire and perseverance, these impossible dreams are now
realities.
Thomas Edison once said that genius is 1%
inspiration and 99% perspiration. Nothing could be truer. For one to
accomplish his or her dreams, there has to be had work and discipline.
But take note that that 1% has to be a think-big dream, and not some
easily accomplished one.
Ask any gym rat and he or she
will tell you that there can be no gains unless you are put out of your
comfort zone. Remember the saying, “
No pain, no gain”? That is as true
as it can be.
So dream on, friend! Don’t get caught up
with your perceived limitations. Think big and work hard to attain those
dreams. As you step up the ladder of progress, you will just about find
out that the impossible has just become a little bit more possible.
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