4 Ways to Recapture Your Ability to Dream

Many of us become stuck in the minutia of everyday life. We get up, stretch our sore bodies, drink coffee to get rid of the morning fog, and get out the door to go to work, to get the kids to school, to care for family members or do many of the other things that we’re responsible for in our day-to-day lives.

Weeks pass… then months pass… then years pass… and if you’re anything like me, all of a sudden you wake up one morning and think: “Is this it? Is this all there is to life?”

I’m not saying that every once in awhile we don’t stop for a moment to appreciate the great things in our lives. I am saying, though, that I’ve noticed that in recent years, with the weight of financial stress, losses of loved ones and the ever-expanding demands on my time and energy, I’ve sometimes lost my sense of hope, my sense of excitement about life, and most of all…my ability to dream.

For many of us with a full-time job (whether inside or outside the home), young kids and tons of demands on our energy and time, we’re just trying to make it through day-by-day, hour-by-hour. The problem is that unless we deliberately create time and space to:

• look at the big picture
• create a vision of where we want to be in five or ten years, and
• think about what we want our lives to stand for

we’ll remain stuck in the minutia of the everyday and we won’t be able to recapture our abilities to dream.

If you, like me, have been feeling stuck in the groundhog day of life, here are four strategies that you can try out that helped me when I was feeling a bit stuck:

1) Incorporate Visualization into Your Everyday Life

As a high performance athlete, the way that I created and achieved my dreams was by vividly imagining them coming true through visualization.  Until I started reflecting on what skills helped me achieve mastery in sport and how those might be useful to help me get unstuck, it hadn’t occurred to me to use the skill of visualization in my everyday life.

One great place to start is by watching this free video by Christine Marie Sheldon.  The whole video is great but if you are pressed for time just start at 25:39 and participate in the visualization that she leads.

When I was feeling physically worn out, I did this visualization every night while I lay in bed to go to sleep and it really helped me get unstuck.  In the part about gratitude at the end, I visualized positive things that I wanted to happen in my life and it started to manifest my reality. It sounds crazy… but this stuff really works!

2) Listen to Something Inspiring

Starting to listen to an inspirational podcast just might be the key to moving you out of survival mode. There are several that I’m listening to right now on my commute to work and back.  My favourite right now is called the Smart Passive Income Podcast with Pat Flynn. Pat Flynn is full of integrity and talks about the mechanics of creating an online business and making money from an area of expertise that you either already have OR that you can develop. Since I’ve always wanted to start my own business, this podcast has helped create excitement for me. Most importantly, it has helped me dream again about exciting things for my future. There are all sorts of podcasts out there focused on growth, self-development, gratitude, positivity, health so find one that fits your interests and see if it helps you dream again too. The best thing about them is that they’re free – just download them on WIFI and voila, you can listen away!

3) Read a Life-Changing Book

If you are an avid reader, like me, pick up a great book that has exercises in it that help you articulate your vision and move forward towards a better version of your life. The first book I would recommend is The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson.  He talks about why and how to make positive choices to move you towards a more fulfilled and meaningful life.  The book includes exercises and is full of great stories to help get you unstuck.

4) Make a Dream Board

For creative types, make a dream board.  Buy a large post-it sticky note and fill it up with images of what you want in your life.  You could also do this online through a Pinterest page if you prefer.  Post it in a place (or if online visit the page often) that you see regularly. You’ll be amazed at what will start to happen (check out this post to read about my first experience creating a dream board and what happened!).

Implement one of the four strategies above and post a comment below letting me know if any of them helped you. Let’s recapture our abilities to dream!

If you liked this article, check out: