Making your dreams come true: eight good strategies that will help you

Realizing your dreams is 80% self-control and psychology. The rest is time management.

Having dreams is very rooted in the human being. The writer Milan Kundera even argues that dreaming is proof that imagining, dreaming what has not been, is one of man's deepest needs. So if you're interested in this topic, I'd like to summarize eight proven strategies that will help you move forward towards realizing your own dreams.

1- Put yourself in the best possible state of mind.
It is when you feel good that it is time to dream, because then dreams emerge from the best of you and move forward, on what I really want, rather than being an escape from the current situation, from what I no longer want. The difference is not only academic, believe me. And to feel good, one of the best ways is to learn how to direct your attention.

To realize your dreams, you need to maintain positive emotions and know how to break your addiction to paralyzing emotions (fear, anxiety, discouragement, doubt, helplessness, overwhelmance, guilt...). Realizing your dreams is 80% self-control and psychology. The rest is time management.

2- Have big dreams, be enthusiastic!
It is the great visions that inspire human beings. By doing so, you give yourself a direction you will want to go in. And often come back to your dream, since that's where the energy and passion that really drives you is. Remember: everything around you started with an idea, an intention. A word of advice by the way: record, as they pass, the ideas that come to you (in writing or as a voice memo on your mobile device). It's the best way to get them out of your head quickly, to remember them and to feel good because at that moment, you connect to the best of yourself.

3. Dreams, of course, but a little planning too...
Set yourself intermediate goals to move towards your dream. The secret is to be specific and concrete when you feel good, at your best, and to be more general when you are not at your best.  What do you want to have done in six months, a year or two years? Where do you want to be returned? Establish an action plan, that's how you make a dream come true. And keep your attention on the destination. Without a mobilizing objective, all your energy will be absorbed by the demands of others or dissipated in meeting the needs of the moment.

4. Take responsibility for what happens to you.
Stop looking for excuses or reasons why you don't move. You create your reality, so get in charge. Don't get the results you want? Instead of blaming others, the whole world or yourself, instead of being a victim or a martyr, try something else, change your approach and look for other ways. Madness, Einstein said, is about doing the same things over and over again, expecting new results, and the best way to get out of your sense of helplessness is to take responsibility for what happens next.


5. Take action.
Too often, our lives are characterized by the fervour of the creed, but the anemia of action. People who realize their dreams are not only dreamers, but also actors. What specific actions do you need to take to move towards your goal? Don't let a day go by without taking any action to reach it, no matter how small (a phone, a reading, a class, a walk outside, a period of meditation...). One day, you will look back and realize how far these small steps have taken you. Meditate? Walking outside? Yes, because when you feel good, when you are well connected to yourself, the actions to be taken often come on their own, spontaneously, and do not require much effort.

6. Know how to surround yourself.
Your choices always have an impact on the people around you. Make sure they understand and support you, even if it should not be made a sine qua non condition. Also create a stimulating and encouraging environment by choosing your friends, your readings, the shows you listen to and watch. Fasting with the media that distill fear. If necessary, get help and protect yourself from people and conversations that make you feel worth less than you are worth.

Seven good reasons to dream your life

7. Be patient... and above all confident.
We live in an era of instantaneous, button-press, speed and immediate satisfaction of our desires. Big dreams often take time. On the other hand, their realization brings great satisfaction, joy and fulfillment. As Paulo Coelho points out, it is the opportunity to realize a dream that makes life interesting. So stay the course and believe deeply that you will succeed. Learn to enjoy the ride and reward yourself along the way.

8. Making your dreams come true also means knowing how to let go.
It sometimes seems that the more we try to make something happen, the further away it gets. And yes, sometimes you have to stop obsessively thinking about your dream, your goals and your means of action and, once again, trust. Removing it temporarily can allow our brain to bring out certain solutions and above all to give way to originality and creativity.

Release, in the immediate future, may therefore be perfectly compatible with the action, but will sometimes involve a different or delayed action. So take time to laugh with friends, play with your children, go on a trek or go to the spa. The universe will take care of working for you in the meantime.

On the other hand, letting go helps to get out of the illusion of sunk cost fallacy. You know of companies or governments that continue to invest money in projects that are doomed to failure and hopeless with the following reasoning: Can't we stop now after all the money (time, energy) we put into this project? Sometimes people think in the same way about one of their dreams and the energy (money) they have already invested in it. If there is no hope that an investment will pay off later, the reasonable thing to do is to withdraw from the project, to let go. But the illusion of lower cost makes it more difficult to abandon a hopeless project.