Sunday, July 6, 2008

If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It

Yes, but how do you turn dreams into reality?

It was a delight to go through the dreams you shared with us. I will not be able to respond individually to all of you, but I can say this : the very process of conscious day dreaming would have set the ball rolling in your life -  if you can dream it, you can do it.

The key is to connect your dreams to specific goals. The law of attraction, popularized by Rhonda Byrne’s book “The Secret”, works only when all your senses are aligned to your dream.


For instance, some said their dream was to have “lots of money”. But lots of money could mean a lakh for one individual and a crore for the other! Could I issue you a cheque for “lots of money”? That’s how vague this dream is.


Get more specific. Exactly how much money do you want to make? How do you plan to do so? And what will you do with it?


It also helps to understand your daydreams. Think about this:


1.     When you fantasize about a dream-home, do you actually see it in your mind? Smell the fragrance of your garden, feel the texture of your walls? Was the image clear and sharp?


2.     Are your dreams personal or impersonal? In dreaming about establishing a school, are you driving the project, a participant or a mere spectator?


3.     Is your dream relevant to your real life? If you daydream about swimming in a pool of champagne, you are probably just seeking an escape from today’s problems. But, if you rehearse an important presentation,  you are dealing with a relevant aspect of your life.


4.     Do your dreams represent suppressed desires? If you have been doing poorly in school but telling yourself it doesn’t matter, while your daydreams show you overcoming incredible obstacles, you may have misjudged your deepest wishes. Or if your daydreams consist of passionate love affairs while in everyday life you have focused on career success, you may be suppressing a deep need for affection.


Gathering self-knowledge is the first move towards fulfilling your potential.


It won’t always be easy, but bear in mind what George Elliot said, “It is never too late to become what you might have been.”


THE POWER OF POSITIVE
The importance of thinking and dreaming positively cannot be stressed enough. If you worry a a lot, keep this in mind - worrying is actually a form of daydreaming, but with a pessimistic result. If it recurs, it could actually lead to the imagined result.


The opposite is true as well. If you repeatedly visualise success, you are more likely to achieve it.
It is so easy and simple to daydream and then say, “Well it is just a daydream. It will never come true”. It is so easy to give up due to lack of faith.


Don’t. 

Remember, quitters don’t win and winners don’t quit.

In short, to achieve your dreams and goals:
1. Have a specific goal.
2. Be sure you really want to achieve your goal.
3. Have a clear mental image of your goal.
4. Nurture a strong desire for it.
5. Disregard and reject doubts and thoughts about failure.
6. Keep the faith and persevere.


When you visualize your goals or write them down, the energy you channel toward visualizing and affirming your goal helps develop your inner strength, concentration, willpower and self-discipline. You actively develop your inner powers.


And lastly, one of the advantages of visualisation and affirmation is that you can use them wherever you are, at any time. All you need is your mind.


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Thought for the Week
“The starting point of all achievement is desire. 
Keep this constantly in mind. 
Weak desires bring weak results, 
just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat.
Napoleon Hill (1883–1970)
Pioneer of Personal-Success literature

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First published in Gray Matter - The Hindustan Times


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