The Importance of Taking Action on Your Dreams

2 years ago

Goal-setting is fantastic however it’s only half of the story. The other half is actually taking action to achieve the goal.

Why do so many people not achieve their dreams in life?

Why do people find themselves stuck in jobs they hate? How does someone go from dreaming of being a music star, to being locked in an office all day?

In this post, about being clear on what you want, you’ll learn the difference between a dream, vision and a goal, how to handle decision making and managing tasks with that one important question to always ask yourself.

Well, there are many answers to the previous questions maybe you see yourself in one. The answer usually has to do with not clearly knowing what you want.

You may have a dream, but you don’t have the goals

You might have goals, but not a clear vision

And you might think you have a vision which is actually a dream

Let’s break these down as they’re often used interchangeably but mean different things:

Dream

A dream is an aspiration or a desired outcome that is often vague, unclear, and not necessarily achievable. Dreams tend to be more abstract and emotionally charged than specific and measurable.

Vision

A vision is a mental picture of what the future could look like. It is a clear, vivid, and compelling idea of what you want to achieve, and it usually involves a significant change in a specific area. A vision is more concrete and detailed than a dream and requires a certain level of clarity and focus.

Goal

A goal, on the other hand, is a specific and measurable objective that you set for yourself to achieve. A goal is more actionable and tangible than a dream or a vision and requires a clear plan of action tasks to accomplish. Goals are time-bound, meaning they have a specific deadline for completion.

Decision Making

All achievements start with having the vision. It is what keeps you motivated through the tough times. You can even use vision boards and other visualisation techniques to help bring your vision to life. Because until you know exactly what it is you actually want, how can you possibly expect to get it?

Take this example, “I want to be rich”. It isn’t good enough to say you want to be ‘rich’, you need to know why and what you need to do to become rich. And it’s not obvious why you want to be rich, everyone’s why is not the same.

Another example, if you dream of being a star one day, then you want to think about how you actually intend to make that happen. What does being a ‘star’ mean for you and what steps are you going to take? How many hours are you willing to work, practice etc.

And when you make all these choices, you need to ensure that this is truly what you’re passionate about, that your intended goal is something that you enjoy thinking about, enjoy working on and can’t wait to make a reality.

The reason this is all so important, is that it will then allow you to make all your future decisions that much more easily. This is going to act like your road map, to help you to get to the end destination that you want.

Now, whenever you find yourself making any big decision, the question to ask is:

Will this help me achieve my goal?

So for instance, if you’re trying to decide about buying the latest expensive gadget, then the simplest way to decide if its a good idea or not is to ask if it will help you to accomplish your goals. Likewise, if you’re unsure whether you should take a particular business opportunity, ask whether the decision is going to take you closer or further from your goals.

Daily Tasks

The problem with many people who aren’t quite sure what they want, is that their goals end up on a back of the shelf and that other things seem to start getting in the way.

Our days often get filled up with tasks and many of them have nothing to do with our goals

Can it be simplified, outsourced or automated?

For instance you have a proposal to write, that can potentially earn you £1000 but your house chores are waiting to be done and will take hours.

Instead why not outsource the housework to an agency for around £30-£50 to free up your time to focus on your goals?

If you really want to achieve something amazing, you have a dream that you really want to make happen, then you need to make this your priority and you need to change the way you do and think about everything else.

And it shouldn’t feel like a sacrifice either. Because if you really love what you’re working toward then it will mean fully embracing the thing you really want to be doing anyway

But in some cases the small tasks might be boring or even difficult. Take for example becoming the next big music star, some of your tasks and action steps include sitting down and writing to potential sponsors, record labels, journalists or producers instead of sitting down and writing songs!

Again, whenever you find yourself performing a task, the question to ask is:

Will this help me achieve my goal?

This is why it’s important to keep your eye on the prize or end result, always look at the bigger picture

Remember your “Why”

Ask whether the writing to record labels is going to take you further from or closer to your goals. This is where keeping your “why” in the forefront of your mind is crucial as that will keep you motivated to keep taking action. With each step on your journey, its one step closer to your dream.

With all the distractions that’s happening to us these days , it’s much more difficult than it was before, even the statistics tell us this.

While dreams, visions, and goals are all important, they have different meanings and implications. Dreams are aspirations that are often vague and emotional, visions are clear mental pictures of the future, and goals are specific and measurable objectives that require a clear plan of tasks and action steps.

You get clarity on your vision and know what you want. Create your goals, stay fully focused on them. Keep remembering your Why, when tough times hit and make sure you make decisions and perform daily tasks based around your goals.