If you read my post “Finding your Dreams”, you might be wondering what is next.  You might be sitting there thinking, “How do I figure out what my dreams are?” or “I have all these dreams but don’t have a clue as to how to make them happen.”  Well, it’s possible to take them to the next step. And That’s what I want to tell you about in this post: How to go about finding your dreams. In a later post I will share with you how to make those dreams happen.  So here are 5 steps to finding your dreams.

1. Meditate

With this, I’m not talking about religious meditation for Budha or anything like that.  I am talking about simply finding a quiet time and spot to clear your mind and relax. As crazy as it may sound one of my favorite places to do this is in the shower.  I can’t be doing anything else while I’m showering and soaking in the hot water is really relaxing. It has even gotten to the point where if I say to my husband, “Can we talk?”  He will say “No! You were just in the shower!” He knows my mind goes a hundred miles an hour and the ideas just flow when I can relax like that.

So whether its in the shower, sitting on the patio, a cup of coffee in the morning before the kids are up, or another time when you can relax, find a way to meditate and clear your mind.

2. Let your mind go

Once you have found the time and place to meditate, just let your mind go, but keep it positive.  Let it wonder into the areas of things you enjoy. If you enjoy sewing let it go to sewing projects.  If you love to exercise think about the next activity you want to try. Whatever it may be let yourself go there.  The only things I would encourage you to not allow is negative thoughts or thoughts about all the things you should be doing and aren’t.  Both those things will get you nowhere. If you have a negative thought redirect your mind to the positive, to something you love doing.

3. Turn the wanderings of your mind into Dreams

So you spent time letting your mind go, mulling over something you enjoy doing.  This could very well be the beginning of a dream. Dreams come in all sizes so don’t count out the little ramblings in your head.  More than likely the things you were thinking about during the last 2 steps are things you love. At least it should have been. And if you love it, it is generally a passion of yours.  And guess what, our passions drive our dreams.

For instance, if I decided to take a shower to meditate in step one and while I was doing so I began thinking about getting healthy.  I might be thinking about how I would like to get in shape and how I’ve always wanted to either participate in a 5k race or triathlon.  Without even trying, I have found 2 dreams right there: To run a 5k and do a triathlon.

So what things did you think about that might actually be dreams?

4.  Write them down

This one is huge, and I admit, I don’t do enough of it either.  Once you have identified a dream write it down at a minimum. There are several reasons this is important.

A. To make your plan of completion

By writing it out you will be more apt to take it to the next step and actually complete steps to making your dream happen.  If you never record them they may just get lost in the abyss of your mind and will never go beyond being a dream.

B. Tracking

In all honesty, more than likely not every dream you have will come to fruition.  But if you write down your dreams, you will see when the do become a reality and will be less likely to be discouraged.  The first time I wrote out my dreams I put down that I wanted a camper that slept at least 6. I kind of forgot I had wrote that down.  The next time I looked at my list I realized it had come true. A little while after making my list we had the opportunity to but a pop up camper which sleeps 8.  If I hadn’t written it down I may have forgotten my initial dream and missed out on how much of a victory that camper represented.

C. To See It

Let’s be real.  Many times if we see something it  becomes even more real to us. This is no different.  If you have a thought in your head it is still just a thought.  If you put it on paper it takes on a new life and becomes real to you.  Something a little more permanent and defined.

5. Have fun with finding your dreams

There are several ways to have fun with this process of finding your dreams.  Once you have written your dreams down you can do something you enjoy to remember them.  Take your sheet of paper and make a “dream” video, take pictures of your “dreams” and create a slideshow, make a scrapbook, or whatever you enjoy that you like looking back at to remember the dream.  Something that you can record when those dreams happen. You might be surprised at how many of them do become reality.

Have fun with the process as well.  When you learn it’s ok to dream it will take you to another place.  You won’t be stuck in the present and it’s worries but in the hopes of the future.  As I said earlier though, don’t get stuck in a negative thought process. For instance, if your dream is to travel to Europe someday, don’t start automatically thinking about how it will probably cost too much, or how you have no one to travel with, or how you are too old to travel that far.  Just record the dream. We can look at the realities later.

Enjoy the hope and excitement that dreaming brings!  Share with me the dreams you come up with!

~Melissa