Do you have a dream? Everything begins with a dream. A dream is what you want to be, to have, to become at a future point. It is your aspiration; your most desirable. It will take every action possible. It’s a big cajuna. The dream should be yours—so to say, it’s my dream. You can share it but it’s still yours. It should be important to you. They do not die. Keep your dreams alive. In pursuing your dream, there may be obstacles and doubts. But you should fold them. These obstacles may be money; friends who doubted in your dreams. Fold them. Keep them away. You must be passionate about this dream. Passion is an extra thing that keeps us going. Your dream must be exciting to you or else it will be nothing. It will not be a dream; it’ll be just something else. Goals, however, are desired outcomes. It’s what you want to realize within a period of time. These are steps one must climb to reach their dreams. In setting goals, there are few guidelines. It must be specific. You don’t just say, I want to lose weight. Say, I want to lose 20 lbs in 2 months. It makes the goal more compelling. It must be big. Don’t start small. If you start small, tendency is if you can’t make it, you will end up with nothing. But if you start big, somehow you’ll end up with something better than nothing. Set realistic goals. Don’t set impossible ones. Don’t say I want to lose 20 lbs in 2 days. Set attainable goals. Concrete goals are reachable. Losing weight without doing something about is unattainable. Set measurable and long-term goals. Now attack these goals with passion. You have to set your standards high. Separate others who aren’t pushing themselves… who haven’t accepted the status quo. Set priority for your goals. Overcome procrastination. If you can do it now, why wait? Take action to realize the full potential of your opportunities— even when it hurts. If it hurts, it means it is working and you can appreciate the efforts better. Once you have a dream, you must create various goals that will move you forward towards achieving that dream. Realizing your dreams and working on the goals are not easy. You should sacrifice. Face the fears. Be courageous and self-reliant. Take risks and most especially trust yourself. Winning is easy. The persistence of a person who always wins can never tested. Struggling or losing is hard. People who struggle, crushed and smashed but still get up have more experiences in life that will make them better persons. Be passionate to make your dreams into a reality. Now, what’s the difference between a dream and a goal? For me, Dreams have no specific target when to achieve it but goal has a set target on when exactly to accomplish it. Before, I have a vague dream but now, my dream is to own a two-storey house with a swimming pool and a garden that I designed which will be in sight in Consolacion, Cebu 10 years from now. How about you? What’s your dream? Have you set goals to reach it?
source: Albert Mensa’s audio presentation of Dreams & Goals
Joanne Micolle 