How to Make Your Dreams a Reality

It is 2023 and to borrow a cliché, there is no time like the present to make your dreams come true.

Do you wonder how other people navigate their lives to move steadily and purposely toward realizing their dreams? Do you beat yourself up, frustrated and wondering why you can never make that happen?

I am here to tell you: you, too, can give vibrant life to your dreams and make them a reality.

Dreams move and inspire us while bringing energy and excitement to our lives. They empower and become the trajectory for your future, bringing passion and purpose to your life. Here are practical tips to get you there.

Dream Big

Set your site on the best imaginable vision for your life. Don’t allow disempowering thoughts to stop you from thinking big. Spend time trying to uncover the beliefs that keep you playing small. They may sound like: It’s too late for me. I am not good with change. That’s for other people, not me. My needs don’t matter. I am not worthy. I am broken.

Those are samples of the disempowering beliefs from childhood that drop obstacles in our path and make reaching for our dreams impossible. Until we uncover them, give ourselves new empowering beliefs that align with where we want to go, and open the paths of possibility. The idea that it’s too late for me becomes this is the perfect time for me. The belief that I am not worthy becomes I am worthy, and the Universe has my back. The belief that I am not good with change becomes I embrace change. The belief that it’s for other people becomes this is my time.

Dreams are not a zero-sum game. Achieving your dream does not take other people’s dreams away from them. The Universe is abundant, and everyone can make their dreams a reality.

Visualize Your Goals

Picture and set all the realistic and unrealistic goals you think will allow you to transform your dream into a reality. Shoot for the stars. List the obstacles you might have to tackle along the way. See all the possibilities. Be prepared. Believe! Visualize the challenges so you can start to plan how to move beyond them. Picture step by step.

Make Lists

Be prepared. Write down everything you need to do to make your dreams come true. Then organize the list into small, medium, and large tasks. Methodically work on all three lists and try not to concentrate on what comes easy. Mix them up. Combine the effort. Chunk the action steps down into bite-size tasks. Don’t rush. Your list is a map to guide you, not to burden you.

Manifest Your Dream

Pick a specific time each day. Set a timer. I use 11:11, a spiritual number representing infinity. When your timer goes off, stop, close your eyes, and picture your life with the dream as real. Picture how you conquered the obstacles and landed where you wanted to land. Feel what it is like to live your dream. Do this every single day until your dream has become a reality. Thank the Universe for making it a reality.

Take Small Action Steps

Take small actionable steps outside your comfort zone. This will prove that you can do the hard things and develop new habits. Honor your commitments and that your word is golden.

Be Willing to Fail

There is as much, if not more, juice in the journey than in the destination. Recognize that failing is a stepping stone to success. The timing might need to be corrected, or you may need to learn more. Use failures as opportunities to reset and resume. When you fall, taking a step toward a vision, you are falling forward. Learn from these experiences and affirm that it is worth the effort. Do not allow minor setbacks to disappoint. Be aware of how good you feel about yourself for trying and staying the course. Your self-love, self-talk, and self-trust will increase each time you take a step forward.

Say No To Negative Self-Talk

We each have a voice inside our head that tells us we aren’t enough or this will never happen. Have compassion for that voice but know that because you have a thought does not make it true. Be the observer of your thoughts, not the reactor. Negativity can eat away at dreams one day at a time. Look for what is right and not what is wrong. Stay positive, encourage and inspire yourself, and fight each day for your dream.

Ask For Help

Don’t do this alone. Understand who can help you get where you want to go. Asking others for help and support is a gift you give yourself. There are always others with more expertise. They are there for you. Use them. You do not have to reinvent the wheel.

Consistency creates competence, and competence builds confidence.

Get out of your comfort zone. It is vital. Use fear as a driving force for change. When you think I can’t, tell yourself I must. Change and all the possibilities await you on the other side of your comfort zone, calling on you to do the very thing you fear to do.

Stay In Your Own Lane

Don’t compare yourself to others. You might find yourself comparing your worst day to their best. Or they may be in materially different circumstances. Stay in your own lane and stay mindful of your prize. Don’t yield to excuses.

Share Your Dream

Write down your dream to share with others. Written and shared, it is another step toward reality.

Stay Grateful

Gratitude helps you see the good in everything and inspires positive thoughts. Moving in the direction of your dreams creates more self-love and self-trust. Stay in alignment with all of your action steps. Remember, moving toward your dreams is like climbing a mountain. You can go straight up the center, which is faster, harder, and steeper, or take the switchbacks, enjoy the journey, build incrementally, and learn to recalibrate. Every time you veer from the trajectory of your goals, you are on a switch back. That is fine. As long as you stay on the trail putting one foot in front of the other, you will arrive at the top and realize your dream.

If you want to reach your dreams, be Bigger, Better and Braver.™

Enjoy The Process!

I would love to hear from you and the dream you want to pursue. Sharing it makes it more real.

I want to support your journey. I will be at the ranch for two weeks in 2023 and would cherish the opportunity to support you in person. (Weeks of May 26 and October 21)

If you need help making your dreams come true, I invite you to read my international best-selling book. Bigger, Better Braver: Conquer Your Fears, Embrace Your Courage and Transform Your Life. It is a step-by-step how-to for making your dreams a reality.

May you be healthy, may you be happy, may you be at peace,

Nancy

Certified Master Integrative Life Coach, Nancy Pickard,  has a myriad of coaching certifications specializing in Breakthrough Shadow, Boundaries, Healing Your Heart, Parenting, Reinvention and the New Relationship Blueprint. Sign up for her latest class.

She is the author of the international best-selling book, Bigger Better Braver:  Conquer your fears, Embrace your courage, Transform your life. She offers a digital course and an online- zoom coaching course featuring her book, as well as the New Relationship Blueprint. She is also a student of Relational Life Therapy with Terry Real.

Prior to her work as a coach, she operated as owner and founder a personal training gym for sixteen years, so she knows what it takes to help people achieve big goals.

She lives by example. In 2017, she traveled alone in Thailand and Vietnam and undertook her biggest challenge, climbing Kilimanjaro at the age of 61. Coaching others to step out of fear and into bigger versions of themselves is my passion.

She is the mother of two grown sons and an active grandmother to four beautiful grandchildren. She is an avid hiker, biker, skier, yogi and pickleball player.  She is passionate about my five-year-old Australian Labradoodle, Bliss.