A super simple tool to help you create your dream reality!
Hi there!
It has been 5 months since I made the jump from my 24 year corporate career into a lifestyle that was once only a daydream.
Today, I would like to share with you one of the simple tools I used to help me create my own dream reality.
It’s called the STOP, START, CONTINUE model.
Ok, first up is what we are going to STOP doing:
STOP thinking about what you don’t want:
All too often we spend so much of our energy and time thinking about the things we don’t want:
“I don’t want to work in this job anymore”
“I don’t want to spend time doing this anymore”
“I don’t want to be living this lifestyle”
Sound familiar? It does to me because this was me for years and it was painful!
So then we get to the point where we are ready for a change but we don’t know how to go about it.
We spend hours and hours in our heads trying to figure out how to change our circumstances.
I did this for years and let me tell you - It’s a waste of your time and you need to STOP doing it! You are spending precious time and energy on the wrong thing. It’s like taking a wrong turn at a crossroad and then knowingly continuing down that road for miles and miles, getting further away from your destination.
What we need to START doing is focussing on what it is you want:
“What is it I really want?”
“What is important to me?”
“What kind of life do I want to lead?”
These may sound like big scary questions and often people will say to me “I don’t know what I want!” But you know what? I think everyone knows what they want, they just don’t give themselves the space and peace to listen to their hearts.
So…I invite you to take a few deep breaths, sit quietly and listen to your heart for a few moments…
Once we get still enough, we will start to hear and feel what is important to us, what it is our heart desires and what it is we want from this life. This is where the magic begins to happen.
Then, take out a piece of paper and write or draw what it is you want!
Here is something I drew 3 years ago. I’m no artist but it was a powerful piece of paper I used to carry around with me in my wallet and look at a few times a week. I had NO IDEA how I was going to make it a reality but I knew it was what I wanted.
It may not seem like big dreams to others but these were huge for me. At the time, I was working a big corporate job with big responsibilities at work, at home and financially. I had very little time for my family, my health and felt like I wasn’t making the contributions to the world that I knew I could be making.
Allowing yourself to dream is the first step. It takes courage. It feels vulnerable. And it's ok.
Once you have put down your dreams on paper, they start to become more real. They may not seem achievable at this moment but guess what? You are daring to dream and that my friend is what’s important because you are now on the right road. One step is all you need to take and this one costs nothing, takes hardly any time and is the start of a beautiful journey.
Now, for the third thing: CONTINUE. You are going to continue to dream!
Work on that little diagram or list over the next couple of weeks. Refine it, day dream about it, bask in the feelings that come up when you imagine those things coming true. Don’t let the worry of how you are going to make it happen creep in, that part doesn't matter! For now, just give yourself permission to dream 🙂
I would love to hear about your dreams!
Reply to this email to let me know how this exercise went for you!
Feel free to also forward this email to anyone who you think might benefit from this content. They can subscribe to the newsletter via this link. The more people who #daretodream, the better this world will be!
With love,
