Stop Dreaming and Start Becoming Your Dreams

You’re sitting, eyes closed, legs crossed — you’re deep in thoughts. You can clearly see your future self, a boss, a self- made millionaire walking into your office with lots of employees working under you.

And then there’s that quiet moment — you’re lying in bed, also lost in thought, when suddenly, a life-changing idea hits you. You can feel it, this idea could make you a leading figure in your career.

And the next time, you’re having deep conversations with a friend. You’re talking about your ambitions, your goals, and pouring out dreams. You’re filled with this strange passion. You want to be financially independent, you wish for success and you want to break free from limitations. These ideas wake a fire in you.

But what happens next?

You wake up the next day, going about your usual activities. The passion that burned so brightly, the dream that felt so real? Where did it all go? That idea you felt could change your life, was it a spur of the moment thing?

That future version of you, a boss, a millionaire, how do you plan on getting there? Or is it yet another dream gathering dust?

A Mindset Shift

I know you want this dream to be your reality, but somehow the fire that burns in you is suddenly non-existent, and the motivation, gone. I’ve been there, and I can relate to this struggle. The inability of you to take actionable steps towards that goal or your dream life is because you’re deeply rooted in your comfort zone and dreaming feels safe. Taking action would be a shift from that comfort and a potential risk.

It’s time for a shift in mindset.

Becoming isn’t about waiting; it’s about taking action. While dreaming is a stepping stone, action is the big step towards that goal. You have this great idea, something your mind tells you would make a great difference in your life. But you’ve lost confidence in yourself, self doubt has eaten you up so much that you’ve dismissed the idea with the regular excuse “I can’t do this, it’s too complex.”

Sometimes you’re waiting for the perfect time to start. What is perfect time, if I may ask? Could that be today, tomorrow, this week, or next month? There is no such thing like a perfect time to start; it’s the fear in you that breeds such procrastination. Have you ever really started? You don’t need to be perfect to start, or wait for the perfect time to start; you just need to begin, even if it’s messy. And mind you, don’t wait till you feel motivated again, or till the fire in you starts to burn again.

Dreaming feels like a safe space, no risk, no failure, just great thoughts. But here’s where the problem lies — you can dream forever, but when you wake up, you wake to the reality of you still stuck in the same place. No improvement whatsoever. If you were paying rent for your dreams, your rent would have been long overdue.

You need to keep fear, lack of confidence and self-doubt aside if you really want to succeed. Revamp your mindset, because dreams without action are just thoughts.

The Need To Start Becoming

You need to become your dreams. Transformation happens when you move from just dreaming to actually doing. While you dream of becoming successful, equally think of ways to become successful.

Think of that successful person you admire and envy; they didn’t just dream, they made their dreams a reality. It’s never too late to start — your age, culture or whatever limitations you think are holding you back shouldn’t be enough to stop you from becoming your dreams. I’ve seen people who have quit their jobs just to realize their dreams.

I want to let you know that:

Your dreams are valid.

To remain stuck in your dreams, you must have waived the thought of realizing them aside, maybe because of self-doubt or what the society has to say. Your dreams are personal to you, the society has no say on how you choose to realize them.

Your dreams can be your reality.

Once you start, you’ve started working towards being the great person you’ve always dreamed of becoming. Self-doubt is the poison that has kept you away from becoming your dreams.

While it’s important to have a dream, what truly defines the journey is the actions you take. Starting is always the most difficult but important step towards achieving your goals.

How do you achieve your dreams?

Break down goals into small, manageable steps.

Breaking down goals into little actionable steps is one of the most effective steps to accomplishing a goal. Let’s say your dream is to become a great writer; you need to hone your skills and master the art of writing first. Now how do you break down tasks in order to achieve your goals of becoming a writer. You can set small goals like:

Journal daily for 15 minutes.
Publish an article once a week.
Listen to podcasts twice a week.

These little goals create momentum, helping you achieve bigger goals over time.

Challenge yourself and create deadlines.

Deadlines create a sense of urgency in you, keeping you on your toes and making you accountable for your actions. You can invite like-minded people to follow your journey; this keeps you going and helps you build consistency.

Daily affirmations

This might not be very practical, but it plays a huge role in helping you become your dreams.

As a part of your daily routine, write down what you wish to become, or a goal you wish to accomplish. Say it out loud every morning when you wake up. Repeating an action or words has a way of sending signals to our brains and making those words a part of us.

If you continuously repeat the words, “I am not lazy, I am hardworking,” you slowly start to see laziness as an enemy, and working hard will become a priority. This is why it is always important to avoid negative words and focus more on positivity.

Today, I want to challenge you to take that one step. Stop living in fantasies and start building your reality. You’ve dreamed long enough, it’s time for a change. Work towards your dreams, don’t just sit and talk or think about them. Start small, start messy, start scared, start with doubt — just start.

Remember, your dream is waiting, but it won’t wait forever.