Self Life Coach Series # 7
We are finally here. That dream of a “cloud” I used to entice you at the beginning of this series is here! Give yourself this gift. Grab a quiet spot in the corner of a coffee shop. Start jotting down your dreams on page 15 in your workbook. Don’t confuse a dreams with goals, goals will come at the end of this exercise, first just DREAM BIG!
Dreaming comes pretty easy to me but if you are one of the people who has no idea where to start, I have some direction to give you. Look at your Life Wheel “10” descriptions- what sounds amazing to you? Are there some dreams there just waiting to come true? Look at your Needs & Values… are there some hints there to things you are called to do? Talk things through with a spouse or a loved one. I know the stress my husband is under at work and when we talked through some “what ifs” it struck a cord and I think sparked a new dream in his heart and mind. I hope you are able to dream!
Examples of my dreams
For example one of my dreams is to be an influencer through this blog or social media or events… Just writing this series is a goal towards this dream. More goals will continue to come from this and a better definition of what it will look like but for now, this is a big dream.
History of a dream
Dreams come from all parts of our lives. Looking back, I can still remember riding the bus in LA in the 1990’s, yes, I’m that old, and yes, I rode a bus in LA. I was dreaming about having a home like this someday. Reading Alexandra Stoddard books, I was soaking in all the “wonder” of that “Home” dream.
This dream even started before the “nineties” … it really started with the Barbie doll houses my friend Cherie and I designed in my basement in the 70’s! yes, the 70’s!
Many people in America call home ownership a dream. My specific dream was to own a home that could bring together my gifts of design and functionality with history and meaning and family. I want our home to be a place where celebrations happen and order makes it all possible.
Dreams into goals
My dream even has a goal. When we bought this house 4 years ago, my husband was working his business so hard both physically and emotionally. I just wanted our home to be a place where he could escape that stress. It is and was my goal to design our home as a “retreat” for him and everyone else as well. I used that goal to test my design choices as we settled into this home. A few years in, my friend Leigh Ann said, “my home made her want to curl up and take a nap…” I say, that was confirmation that I attained this goal I have for our home.
Now it is time for you to decide which of your dreams you will focus on this year. (Refer to page 16 in your workbook.) Just like with all the other exercises we have done- it is time to whittle down your dreams and pick your favorites. Depending on your dreams, even 3 in one year may be too much. For example, if I was opening a store this year, I probably wouldn’t renovate my kitchen but I think I can handle writing content for my blog and doing the kitchen.
Pick the dreams to focus on now
Let’s start by only looking at 1-3 of your dreams. You could pick the ones that are most attainable or the biggest or the ones that will have the most impact on your life. You could also pick one dream of each of these scenarios but write those three in your workbook .
The next step is to take your chosen dreams and chuck them down into big goals (page 17.) For example, since it is our big dream to have a beautiful home that both functions and serves our needs as a family and others in our community. We have been slowly making improvements and the next big goal towards that big dream is to renovate our kitchen. Of course that big goal is made up of many smaller goals and steps that will lead us to success. Another big goal under that dream is a new driveway.
Break-down your goals
Under the big goal of kitchen there are many little goals. First I had to do some research (which I have been doing for years.) Other smaller goals under “renovate kitchen” are to find a contractor, buy appliances, and make design decisions.
Take your goals and give them some roots for a strong foundation. You can do this by putting them into an action plan that leads to achievement. I think a mistake many of us make when goal setting is that we don’t break down our goals into small pieces the size of “to-dos” or actions. You will learn more about that in this series with “Plan Actions for Goals to Happen,” number nine in this series.
Goals vs actions
For example if it is your goal to lose 20 pounds this year. To break that down you might plan to lose 5 pounds a month for 4 months. To do that you may start working out 4 times a week and eating low carb or whatever works for you. See how “working out” is an action you do?…where “lose 20 pounds” is a result of your actions? On page 20 in your workbook list only ACTIONS here.
Spend some time breaking your goals down into smaller goals and then into “to-do actions.” You may need to make more copies of these pages of your workbook. I find it most effective when these “to-do actions” are things that can be accomplished in a day but no longer than a week. These are steps that are actions you can take. May you have great forward momentum in these actions towards your goals & dreams! Next let’s see what our dreams look like.
NEXT Self Life Coach Series 8: Top 3 Tools to Visualize
PREVIOUS Self Life Coach Series 6: Roles & Responsibilities
