Dreams often need to change when your circumstances change. Whether it is graduating from school, getting married, starting la job, having children or getting old, there are major moments when we need to re-evaluate and reformulate our dream.
I’m old, so part of my dream has been changed for me. But I still get to vote on what I choose to do. I still have a lot of years in which to make a difference. I know it’s time to change my dreams – but what dream do I want to have? What vision do I want to hold?
Is any dream impossible?
In one sense everything is possible. On the other hand, maybe you’re not the one to make it happen. A young woman I know loves to ride and show Tennessee Walking Horses. She wants to do that more than anything else. She is modestly successful at it. The reality check is that it costs money to maintain a horse, there are not many job as trainers and mot of those are men. The list can get pretty daunting. I asked her if she had taken any business courses. She had taken stable management. I asked her if there was anything related to the field she could consider. She had tried equine photography but said that was hard to do. We kept looking for alternatives but there didn’t seem to be any other choice she was interested in considering.
So my question is, when do we take a hard look at the feasibility of our dream and make some adjustments? Or do we hold tight to what we really want?
Work with what shows up
I live in a world of entrepreneurs. It seems like we are always adjusting, modifying, and coming up with an alternate version of our dream. So meeting someone who was aiming for a very limited target goal, who has good skills, but a quiet personality that may make it difficult for her to promote herself, made me wonder how you know when it is time to shift your vision and how you do that.
You certainly have heard some successful people say they never imagined they would be where they were today. Is that because they are really good, or that the persevered? Or that they were just lucky? I have no idea.
Your passion has many forms
Is passionate self-expression the bottom line? Your joy and success and outstanding results are simply a measure of how fully you express your deepest yearning. Good grief. How do you do that? Will simply staying focused on a dream make it happen, or do you need to go exploring and be willing to change?
A country music singer who won best new artist spent a year playing anyplace he could to get his music heard. Singers on The Voice have been playing wherever they could for years. When your passion is deeply imbedded, you keep working to share it. The more specific your passion, the tricker it is to accommodate. Being a chess champion is very specific. Playing a lot of chess, less so. Teaching others to play chess is a way to be in serve while being involved with the work you love.
What id your dream? Does it still fit? How do you nee to change it?
How do you shop for a new dream?
What if circumstances say you need to alter your dream? It may be a physical accomplishment that you can no longer achieve. It may be a promotion that is simply not going to happen. Or it may be a need to express something important to you that you have put on the back burner because of other responsibilities and choices. How to you formulate a new dram?
Start by looking around you. There are signs and signals everywhere. Notice what interests you and go exploring. A recent series of explorations seemed to take me further away from my goal to create some classes until I ultimately discovered how much I like doing talking head video. It is a perfect medium for me. I have two degrees in theater, I’ve acted and I’ve done television work. It is an idea choice. When that piece fell in place my whole body of work took on a new potential. My dream changed. My expectations expanded. Go exploring and uncover the knowledge and techniques that best resonate with your soul.
What have you created so far?
All the circumstances that are present in your life are there beefcake of wha you’ve been doing. If there is something you don’t like, change your beliefs and habits that surrounds that. If something is really working, do more of what helped attract that.
What is missing in your life?
A key ingredient to a satisfying life is a feeing of relevance. What are you doing that makes you feel useful? What kind of impact are you having? Feeling valuable, knowing you have contributed are places to begin looking for what is missing in your life.
What gifts do you want to offer?
I love to explore and share what I discover. One of my gifts is the ability to see the overview and explain what I figure out to others. I’ve been doing that for a good many years. Now my dream is to expand to new platforms. I have a podcast. I’m learning to do videos which will enhance the courses I am planning. How can you offer your gift in a new format that will expand your reach? What aspect of your gift can you offer next?
When is it time to change your dream?
Begin with the search. The search is the way you become ready to make a choice. When you are ready you will know in an instant that it is time to change. As your explore your dream, take a reality check to see if your dream is possible, or if it is time to alter your dream a bit. Continue to explore and make choices that are aligned with your personal rhythm. When the time is right, the shift will simple occur.
You change, your skills change, your possibilities change
When you are ready, the next right opportunity shows up. I finally learned to make a video and enormous possibilities were suddenly available to me. I moved and my Content Development Coaching business went away as I repaired my aging body. Then a new, much more rewarding direction evolved in the form of the Deeper Song Community. When do you give up? When do you go exploring? When do your move on to something new?
Is it time to change your dream?
To Sing a Deeper Song consider:
04–How to Redefine Yourself and the 30 year Plan (podcast, 20 minutes)
11-Do You Need a New Tribe? (podcast, 20 minutes)
05-Do You Have the Courage to Stand Alone (podcast, 20 minutes)
Take Money Out of the Equation
Why You Need To Learn to Change
