The Lost Art of Dreaming
“Fill your days with ideas. Your years with possibilities… And more importantly, fill your lives with meaning.”
Mojospresso, Episode 27 — The Lost Art of Dreaming
Having flexed our self-reflection muscles in recent weeks, it’s time to look ahead at the year to come and get excited about the possibilities. There is no better moment to get curious, and find motivation through one of the life’s greatest adventures.
The adventure of Dreaming… and dreaming big.
Dreaming is an art form — and it’s one that we’ve lost in a world obsessed with productivity and results. But if there’s one thing we’ve learnt in working with athletes from all walks of life, it’s that dreaming gives us the courage to get out of our comfort zones, and another important way to discover purpose and meaning in our lives.
A pastime that fosters more play in our lives, dreaming is something that our kid-selves did with ease and joy. So the good news is, we’ve done it before, and we can do it again.
There are 3 key areas to explore when it comes to re-discovering this lost art-form:
The first step is deciding to dream
Human-beings are the only species that have the capacity to dream and tell stories. When we choose to play it safe, we stifle one of our most powerful, positive energy sources. Creating a ‘to-be’ list before you create a ‘to-do’ list is one the best ways to get in the dreamers driver’s seat: What kind of human do you dream of being? A courageous leader? A playful parent? An adventurous student? And what could that look like? The magic lies in making the decision TO dream.
Dream like a kid
We’re given permission to dream big as kids… then somewhere along the way, our dreams get dominated by that ‘voice of reason.’ But the reality is, we’re all always growing up — the journey never ends, and no one really knows what they’re doing! To start connecting with our most authentic dreams, we can dive back to our earliest happy memories, and explore what first ignited our imaginations (for more on this see Exercise 1 in Chapter 1 of the Mojo Mindset Course).
Embrace uncertainty
In a world where we crave certainty, we need to accept that life is in fact uncertain and so are our dreams. And when we can embrace this… and really embrace it, we unlock more excitement, possibility and adventure in our lives. You don’t need to know how you’ll get there at this point… but that’s the fun bit.
In the words of the great Stephen Covey:
“All things are created twice. There is a mental (first) creation, and a physical (second) creation. The physical creation follows the mental, just as a building follows a blueprint. If you don’t make a conscious effort to visualise who you are and what you want in life, then you empower other people and circumstances to shape you and your life by default.”
So to get your dreaming process kick-started again, here are a couple of ideas:
10 years from now, I am…
Wouldn’t it be crazy if…
One of the things I loved doing as a kid…
It all starts with the decision to dare to dream.
Looking for extra support?
We recommend starting small when it comes to self reflection, taking just 10 minutes every Friday morning to win the morning, and win the day. You can sign up HERE to our free weekly e-newsletter to join us (and many others!) in making self development and personal leadership a simple but powerful habit.
For more, check out the MOJO MINDSET COURSE & APP. Because you can’t work out what you want until you work out who you are. Start your journey now: https://mojocrowe.com/app
