Be Free to Explore Your Dreams
Darla encourages us to follow our dreams.
“I am thankful to all those who said no to me. It’s because of them that I did it myself.” —Albert Einstein
In celebration of Amelia Earhart day, today’s post is about letting yourself be free to explore your dreams. Earhart was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, and like Einstein’s quote above, she often encountered boundaries and obstacles while she explored her dream of flying. She was often quoted as saying, “I know no bounds.” But the reality is—she was a woman trying to break through a man’s territory. Not an easy task to take on and definitely not without challenges.
Dreams at times can seem to be quite lofty and sometimes a bit unattainable when there are those around us that tend to make us think we might not be able to do what we would love to do. Posters and inspirational quotes tell us to “chase our dreams,” but at the end, we often find ourselves struggling to attain what we hoped to. However, I sometimes think we need to rethink how we go about achieving our dreams. This summer, we got a new puppy, and when we come home from our day, she is so excited to see us. But the puppy always runs away when you try to scoop her up to greet her. It is like a game to her as we chase her around the house. It is not until we stand still that she come to us and jumps up and down until we hold her. Chasing dreams is like my family chasing our puppy—it seems more of a struggle to run after something then if you just step back and let it come to you.
So instead of struggling, here are some suggested tips I found on the web that may help you realize your dreams:
1. Clarify what your dream is: What is you want to do? What is it about this dream that inspires you? Write all your ideas down in a journal or notebook.
2. Learn more about your dreams: Read books, watch movies, talk to experts that can help you formulate what it is you thinking about doing.
3. Talk to others about your dream: Surround yourself with those who can support you and encourage you when you most need it.
4. Identify if there are any obstacles to you obtaining your goal: What would it take to overcome these? Will you need to make a change in your life to make this happen?
5. As a a parent of a dreamer, encourage them and support their dreams. Help them take action.
My girls have had many dreams in their short little lives, and as a parent, I work hard to encourage them at all times and love when I see them accomplishing some of these. For my older daughter, deciding to take place in a musical was a huge thing for her. She had never danced and certainly couldn’t sing. But she made the decision to do so, and we supported her through all of it. And the end result was watching her dance like we had never seen her do before. It was then we realized we may have a little performer in our family, and I was happy to be able to scrap a page to remember this moment:
My younger one made the difficult decision to leave behind her soccer dreams to pursue a new one . . . playing volleyball. I was nervous because she had such a great love for soccer. I certainly wasn’t sure this was the right decision for her. But I stayed strong and supported her. And wow—I am so glad we did. Clearly the change was good for her, and now she dreams of playing in the Olympics. Not sure if that will happen but I will certainly keep encouraging her to pursue her dreams. And if they change, we will still be there to support her. 🙂
So I hope you enjoyed this post and am excited to see you post a layout about your dreams and the steps you are taking to realize them or help someone you love do so! Happy Scrapping!
