The other day I had a flash of a memory. I could vaguely remember that at some point I had an idea and I could remember writing in a journal. So I trekked out to the garage and began to rummage through the box of old journals. I pulled out 2013 & 2014, because the timing seemed about right. As I cracked the binding on 2013, I was reminded that it was my “first” journal. By “first”, I don’t mean my actual first..as the rest of the box was littered with more (half empty) journals, however it was the first journal that I made a commitment to complete. I had been having one of those “oh woe is me” moments when I came across a TED Talk presentation. I probably could have continued hemming and hawing about life’s issues, unfairness & unhappiness, and never having time or money to do the things I would like etc, had I not stumbled upon the TED Talk. The presenter talked about changing your life, and how it could happen just by taking a single step.
I wanted to change. I needed to change. No seriously, I HAD to change. Because the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting a different result, and I had been doing the same thing for way too long.
It’s about “putting your dreams on paper”, and how by doing so it can truly change your life. This wasn’t news to me, I had heard it before.
“Go forth and manifest your life’s ambition, and if your smart you’ll write it down!” My Senior A.P. English teacher used to end class with that statement daily.
But that day was different, I picked up a pen, and dusted off a journal that I had ordered (8 months prior, still in the wrapper). Ironically the journal had a section at the beginning… “Dreaming is Divine” it stated. 8 questions followed. One of which was “What would I love to be, do or have?” I answered all 8 questions with big dreams. Like, really big. Scary big dreams. Dreams that my subconscious was laughing at, and my ego was trying to tell me I couldn’t obtain.
I made a mental commitment to myself and the journal. I wrote something everyday for 365 days in a row. OK, well sometimes, I forgot and caught up a day or two at a time, but I finished! Every stinking page. And then I ordered another journal. And another, and another, and so on. At the end of each year I try to reflect on a few pages, skimming the bad and the good of the year, checking on my thoughts and dreams. Some of them make it to the next years journal, other have changed and the dream shifts and warps into something so much better than what I originally thought I wanted.
My details of how to achieve my dreams have begun to litter my journals. Outlines, ideas, thoughts, and inspiration all jotted down on paper. There’s something about the act of committing an idea to paper.
Really the little secret underlying to all this is nothing more that setting an intent to change. Intent is everything. And for whatever reason, it can be more easily visualized by getting it out of the brain and mouth and onto a page. It turns out the seemingly simple act of writing unlocks all sorts of psychological and personal dynamics which translate to real tangible results. We’re talking more than a 100% difference in results!
“Where your focus goes, your energy flows”
I can’t emphasize this enough. If you are focused on something it’s easier to direct your time, energy and concentration toward it. Accordingly , writing down your dreams enables you to clearly identify what to focus your time, money and resources on. This focus increases your chances you’ll get a return on your efforts. This focus also increases the value of your return on your efforts and prevents you from easily being thrown off track. If you are fuzzy regarding the things you wish to achieve, it’s too easy to give yourself excuses for failure. Written dreams demand certain results. Since you can see the specific results you should be aiming for, it’s harder for you to fudge your results. You end up making less excuses and you set yourself up for failure.
My dreams were lofty and boy would have been easy to blame the business of life if I didn’t achieve them. I had just been laid off and decided to go back to school for an online Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, had a husband who at the time worked construction and was laid off limiting our income greatly in the winter months, and a son who was actively involved in Football. In the years to come I would finish my degree, have another child to our family, my in-laws would crash my 704 sq.ft house to live with us for 6 months, and my husband would change jobs taking him out of town for just over half the month. (And that’s just the highlights reel folks!)
But I did it. I kept writing down the dream. I wrote about the steps I needed to take to achieve it.
So what was the dream? How did it bring about this blog post? This blog post is part of my dream. I am literally “living the dream”.
I still dream. They are scarier than ever. They continue to grow daily and build as my dream shifts to accommodate my current and future visions of what I want out of this crazy thing we call life. I have learned to enjoy the manifestation of the dream as much as the dream itself, and I hope you do too!
Won’t you join me? Grab a pen and get started!
Namaste’
Jessica