7 Simple (and Surprising) Tips to Help You Realize Your Dreams

“Don’t be pushed by your problems; be led by your dreams.” ~Unknown

It’s tricky sometimes, isn’t it?

Trying to find our place on this planet.

Tapping into our inner desires.

Sometimes we know what we want but not how to get there. Sometimes we know “this isn’t me,” but we have no clue who “me” is. And sometimes we think we’re already there, then something out of the ordinary happens and we realize, this isn’t me at all.

At each stage there are pitfalls than can keep us looking in the wrong direction, stuck in fear or stressed about how to move forward.

I know, I’ve been back and forth through all of them.

At twenty-five I had a postgraduate science degree and no wish to use it. At thirty-five I wanted to teach, write, and paint, but no idea what form this would take. And at forty-one, my work is read by thousands and every day I receive emails telling me what I do makes a difference.

(Keeping it real: People also email me and tell me I suck.)

Through it all, I’ve learned simple laws to help navigate the ups and downs of discovering and following your dreams.

1. Don’t think about “your path in life.”

Sounds contrary, doesn’t it?

Because isn’t that exactly what we should be thinking about?

Yes, and no.

Where it can be detrimental is when we stand at the precipice of making a decision and we worry, “Is this my path in life?”

A path is a track laid down to walk on. A path implies there’s only one way, a preconceived singular course. It implies that you can make a wrong decision.

Watch it! Don’t step off the path!

Yes, our life is wonderfully, marvelously one-of-a-kind. No doubt. And trying to make it look like someone else’s is a first-class ticket to unsatisfied-ville. But thinking about our path, now, can put unnecessary pressure on us. It makes us feel nervous.

There are infinite routes to a satisfying, uplifting, life. Whatever decision you make—and have made before—you’re on the right path. It’s all “the path.”

2. Forget everything your guidance counselor said.

Do you remember after high school, tossing around a hodge-podge of career options—trying to decide what to do with your life?

Should you become a podiatrist (have your own clinic), or an actuary (pays well)?

You talk to other podiatrists. You find out what an actuary actually does.

You listen to your parents. You seek advice.

We live in a world saturated with messages about what we should do. There’s nothing wrong with advice. Sometimes. In moderation. You just gotta push it through your “no one-but-me-knows-my-dreams-and-desires” filter.

It’s not that our guidance counselor/parents/spouse/bus-driver don’t mean well. They do. They just don’t know. They can’t.

And we might not know either, at first anyway.

Whatever we hanker for, this gives us the greatest joy. And it’s often not some grand thing—that’s our mind (ego) imposing society’s rules.

I knew a woman once whose three greatest loves were her children, fishing, and next to that, working on an assembly line—she loved the camaraderie and seeing things get done.

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