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01-24-2008, 10:21 AM
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#1
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Step #12: Dream a Little
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Ms. Mommysavers
Last Online: Yesterday 06:22 PM
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Southern MN
Real Name: Kim
Posts: 14,310
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Dream a Little
There’s a movie out right now called The Bucket List. In the film, Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson play cancer patients that escape from the hospital and go on crazy adventures. Basically, all the things they want to do before they “Kick the Bucket.” In some ways, we all have our own “Bucket List” -- whether it’s filled with things like skydiving, going on an African safari, or simply being able to buy a new car.
When we were children, our dreams had no limit. However, as we grew older and made career choices, family choices, financial choices, some of our dreams had to take a back seat to more practical matters. Or, maybe our dreams get frittered away because of impulse buys. Many of us walk through life spinning our wheels without having something to really inspire us. Keeping your dreams in the forefront of your mind and revisiting them frequently can act as a motivator and help you accomplish them. Sometimes Forgetting the Joneses means putting your own dreams ahead of more immediately “gratifying” things like the Target endcaps and Frappucinos at Starbucks.
During this phase of the dreams exercise, I simply want to you to write down as many of your dreams and goals as you can. They should encompass all areas of your life: personal, professional, financial, spiritual, and so on. What would you like to learn? What kind of person do you want to become? What do you want for yourself and for your family? The more you write down, the better. In fact – I want you to shoot for 100. Include long-range plans and things you’d like to make happen this year, or even this month. Don’t worry if you don’t think you will ever have enough wherewithal to make them happen, if it’s a dream, write it down (isn’t that what dreaming is about?).
Make it Personal
When my husband took a look at my list, he laughed. After that reaction I was embarrassed to let him see some of the ambitious and downright bizarre things I was striving for. Then he explained that he wasn’t laughing at the list itself, but rather the fact that only I could have come up with it. If your list looks in any way generic, it might be a good idea to add to your list.
But I'm Happy the Way I Am!
Contentment is great, and dreams can only enhance that. Without dreams, you stop growing as a person. You'd never tell your child, "I love you so much the way you are that I want you to stop learning and evolving," so don't do that to yourself either.
Let's also suppose that whatever you put on the list you were guaranteed to achieve. Better relationships? More security? Would you say, "No thanks, I'm fine"? A lot of us don't allow ourselves to dream anymore because we don't see our dreams as feasible. Or, maybe it's a protective mechanism because we don't want to get our hopes up about something only to have them not happen and be let down. Try to break past those psychological barriers and allow yourself to fantasize about what you would do if you have unlimited funds and unlimited ability.
If you can get your spouse to do this, you’ll get even more out of this exercise. It’s a great conversation to have whether they’re on board with the FTJ project or not.
Last edited by Kim; 01-29-2008 at 06:54 AM.
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