Do you have dreams and desires waiting around for you to take action? Do you have no idea how to get started or even what your dreams and desires exactly are? It’s common for people to lose sight of their dreams as adulthood takes over and causes them to focus on more pressing issues but the desire to do more with their lives never dies.
Now is the time for you to rediscover your dreams and start making them real.
To help you get started, here are 10 questions to ask yourself.
INSTRUCTIONS
Carve out at least 30 to 60 minutes to truly contemplate these questions. Don’t be afraid to go deep. And don’t go for the “easy” answer (although sometimes that’s the best one) but allow yourself to move deeper into each question.
Try brainstorming ideas and thoughts around each question to dislodge hidden dreams and desires. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to spend considerable time on each question. Don’t rush yourself. Take as much time as you need. Perhaps do one question per day for 10 days, giving each question the thought and time it deserves.
1: What do you love to do?
Contemplate everything that you love to do. Make a list. Brainstorm. What brings you joy? What makes your heart sing? What makes you smile? What makes you forget about time? Don’t think in terms of “career” or “job” – simply list everything that you love to do.
2: What did you love to do as a child?
When we’re children, we don’t limit ourselves. Everything is a possibility. We’re (usually) free to express ourselves authentically and our true dreams and desires come out easily. What did you love to do as a child? What would you spend hours doing with pure happiness and excitement? What couldn’t you wait to do? What did you spend more time doing than anything else? Make a list of all these wonderful things no matter how silly or trivial they may seem. They all hold value.
3: What kind of life would allow you to feel this passion again?
This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to readopt doing the things you loved to do as a child but consider what things you could add and/or do in your life that would bring you the level of passion and joy that you experienced as a child. Brainstorm and write them down, no matter how silly they may seem. Play with this. Explore possibilities. Let yourself be limitless. Allow yourself to create and dream up a life that would make you filled with joy and passion.
4: What do you feel is missing from your life?
What are you not doing that you would love to do? What feels like it’s missing from your life? What do you think about doing or wanting to do but you never seem to make time to do it, no matter how wonderful you think it would enhance your life? Brainstorm (again) all the things missing from your life. What do you think would bring you more happiness and joy?
5: What do you dream about doing?
Dreams point to our truth. Explore all the things that you dream about doing. Write them down. Keep a running list, adding to it every time you dream up something new.
6: What are your talents and gifts?
What are you good at? What are people always commenting on, telling you that you’re so good at? Where do your talents and gifts lie? If you asked your friends this question, how would they respond? These answers can help point you towards your dreams. I believe we’re given the talents and gifts needed to live our dreams. What are yours?
7: What experiences have you loved?
And why? This could point to the underlying desires that support your dreams. For example, if you love skydiving, why? Is it the rush? Is it pushing yourself to do something more than you thought you could do? Examine the why and see how that could correlate towards your dream. At the very least, it will show you what you need to include in your dream, such as pushing yourself past your limits or whatever it is for you.
8: What do you feel called to do?
What is your life calling? What do you always keep coming back to? What dream and/or desire won’t go away no matter how much you try to ignore it? Again, this doesn’t need to be about a career. Your calling could be about creating joy in other people’s lives through your cooking or understanding the mysteries of the universe. But it’s important to identify what you feel called to do because this points towards your dreams and desires and gives you the groundwork needed to step into a life you love.
9: What gifts do you feel you need to give the world?
We all have gifts. What gifts do you have that you feel you need to give the world? What gifts of yours would benefit others and bring you happiness in giving them? This could be something as simple as smiling at everyone you meet, sharing your gift of joy, happiness, kindness and/or connection.
10: What is holding you back?
The reason you’re not living your dreams right now is because something is holding you back. And usually what is holding you back is your beliefs, such as I’m too old/not talented enough/have enough time to do what I want. To break through these beliefs, you need to first discover and recognize them and then develop new beliefs to override the old ones. As a life coach, this is what I help my clients do. Until you break through what’s holding you back, you won’t be able to go anywhere or it will be very slow and often painful journey.