The need to dream big
Since January, we have been on the journey of unpacking what it takes to get what you want. Knowing yourself, embracing the hard work, crafting the routine, and being consistent. These ideas help us lay a strong foundation of habit, and action. They make sure that we step up to the plate every day and take a swing. They are the core of this process.
Supposing you have laid this foundation. You have adopted new habits, established routines and rituals. You even journal and check in frequently to keep yourself accountable in the process of chasing success – getting what you want. There is something fundamental and invisible that can hold us back or make us stop short. That is our mental image of ourselves and our future.
Like a great athlete, we must have a very clear vision of what we want to accomplish before we make a move. Vision, in preparation for an action, is as important as the action itself. – Marianne Williamson
The law of attraction has as one of its tenets, the concept of visualizing what you want in order to manifest it. So, imagine sitting in that new car, getting the keys to that new house, going on that holiday, setting up that foundation, whatever floats your boat. And while that can sound like very rah-rah motivational kind of fluff, we do need to embrace the power of the mind’s ability to visualize as a key part of getting what we want and becoming successful. To get what we want, and then transcend it, we have to exercise something we sometimes take for granted. The power of imagination.
It is not like we don’t use it anyway. We are skilled in the art of imagination. It is just that our mind more easily tends to paint images of doom and gloom. We think about our futures, and the fears rise up like specters crowding and clouding all corners of our mind. We are more easily inclined to think about all the things that could go wrong than all the things that could go right.
And that is okay. Sometimes, our present situation is too overwhelming, our environment too toxic, the economy is shit. We are surrounded by negativity, by a fearful apathetic world. We have problems and obstacles in our way. That is why we do the work. That is why we learn how to maneuver, how to overcome impossible odds. That is why we focus on what we can do, the actions we can take. That is why we create an inner citadel, a place of peace and positivity and light.
Because we need that foundation. Think of it like trying to build on a plot of land. Imagine this land is full of ruins, rubble and weeds. First, we have to clear it. We have to remove the obstacles, the rocks, the weeds. We have to reduce the plot to an empty clear space ready to be built on. And that is a good metaphor for what we have discussed all year. Clearing the plot, putting yourself in the position to succeed. The routines, habits and actions begin to form the foundation that we are going to build on.
So, what do we build?
It is easy to settle for just comfort. After all, we have overcome so much, let us just build a small little house and take it easy. Don’t do that. Invest in the quality of your imagination. In the field of architecture, there are designers that create cookie cutter, functional design, and there are those that shift paradigms of what a building could even look like. Become the visionary architect of your life.
I have referenced Peter Theil’s idea of ‘definite optimism’ before. The outlook of having a definite ideal, a clear vision for the future backed up with a strong commitment and plan to achieve it. It is a call to stop being resigned to the status quo for yourself and reach for more.
It is this vision, this mental image of ourselves doing and experiencing and creating things we would never before that fires us up, fills us with emotion and both magnetically matches us to the vibration of what we want, and pushes us to take the concrete actions and steps to get there.
The greatest motivator of change is a crystal-clear vision of what the future should look like. – Andy Stanley
Build something remarkable. Don’t just settle for being comfortable, for setting yourself up and heading off into the sunset. Go Big. Dream Big. Allow yourself to experience and build and create things you never thought possible for you. Visualize yourself living your wildest dreams regularly. Paint a daring audacious vision for your future.
And not just for yourself, but for the community, the people and the world around you.
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