I've always had huge dreams. My entire life. I've wanted to do and see and become things that no one in my life thought was possible. They didn't discourage me, but they didn't really make me feel like I could without a doubt accomplish them. This never stopped me though. My dreams have always been huge, and they've always been changing. I've learned with my giant, changing dreams that I have to rely on myself to encourage myself. Other people will still be encouraging, but they will also have a little bit of the whole "but didn't you just want to do that..." kind of vibe. Right now, my dreams are massive, and this is kind of hard to handle.
When you dream too big, you have to be prepared for disappointment. But never expect it. If you expect your own failure, you encourage your own failure. Expect to succeed and to excel in whatever you dream of. But be prepared just in case things don't turn out exactly as you had planned. Disappointment doesn't necessarily mean failure. Maybe things went well, just not quite the way you had hoped they would go. Expect success but prepare for disappointment.
Surround yourself with reminders of your dream. I put up pictures, posters, post-it notes, anything. I surround myself with reminders of what I am working for every day. It helps keep me going when I feel like I will never reach my dream. When you dream as big as I do, it takes quite a while to accomplish your goals and sometimes you begin to feel like you'll never achieve your dreams. When you surround yourself with reminders of what you're working for, it will help to remind you that all of your hard work is worth it.
Don't let others tear you down. Trust me, they'll try. They'll say your dream isn't realistic. You need to say "I don't care, I'll make it my reality." When you have determination, it will be hard for anyone to deter you from your goal. It will be harder for you to talk yourself away from your goal on a bad day. When you refuse to let others tear you down, you also prevent yourself from tearing you down.
There's so much more to do when you're working towards giant dreams, but most of it is dream-specific. For me, my dream is to be a Mary Kay Independent Sales Director and an incredible ER nurse. Yes, simultaneously. It will be hard. It will probably suck to work toward. But the idea of what I can accomplish gives me power and ambition to work toward it. The giant dream I have is helping urge me forward and I hope your dreams do the same for you.
What do you do when you dream too big? You work for it.
