How To Enjoy The Journey To Your Dreams and Goals
Do you ever feel like you’re in a state of constant transition? That you’re on the way to something and never quite there yet? I’ve decided to name this state of being ‘perpetual transition’ and I believe that the vast majority of us live there. Wanting, wishing, hoping for things that lie just outside of our reach.
While we may not have a choice about setting up tent in this state of being, since its natural for us to want improvements as we live our lives, I don’t think that we have to live there in a state of discontent. The way we feel isn’t determined by what we have, but instead by our state of mind. Last week, I wrote about a gratitude process to help shift your perspective towards more satisfaction but while it’s important to feel appreciation for the good things that we do have, we also need to feel satisfied with our journey to getting those coveted things that we don’t yet have.
Enjoy The Journey
How would you say you feel on your journey? Hopeful? Stagnant and frustrated? Certain and faith-filled? This is crucial because your state of mind will determine whether you attain that thing that you desire. If you’re mildly hopeful but don’t really believe that you’ll have it, then you won’t. If you’re frustrated then you’re really far from the path. If you’re full of faith and feeling pretty good that what you want is making its way to you then you’re pretty close.
“You are never ready for a thing until you believe you can acquire it.”
- Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich
The state of mind that you’re aiming for is pure BELIEF. When you truly and sincerely believe that you’ll have something, THEN you’re ready to receive it. It must be true and sincere because this isn’t something that you can just give lip service to. You have to back it with emotion and strong desire. I believe that this is why everyone says to find what you’re passionate about.
The Magical Component
It’s tricky if you currently don’t believe you’re passionate about anything. Give it some time to develop and keep exploring. But once you’re struck with an idea that gives you tingly feelings all over, FOLLOW IT. Don’t doubt it. Don’t rationalize it. Don’t talk yourself out of it. That idea has the magical component you need to see it realized. The magical component is the passion, the emotion. The way it makes you feel when you ponder it. Back that with belief that you can have that thing and it’s yours.
If you’ve never read Think and Grow Rich, please go and acquire it right now. This is me telling you that this book holds all the secrets to attaining anything that you want in life. Seriously. Anything.
I picked up this book a couple of years ago while moping around my mom’s house, jobless and unsure of what I wanted for my future. At the time, I wasn’t very confident of myself and was looking to any and every self-help to tell me how to go about this strange thing called post-grad adult life. Soon after reading Think and Grow Rich, I was gainfully employed at a great company making way more money than I ever thought I could in my specific line of work. Not only did I get the income but also the other attributes to a job that I desired, flexible work hours, casual environment, convenient commute, unlimited vacation days, etc. etc.
I hadn’t picked up the book since then and now that I’ve found myself in Los Angeles for a couple of months and have yet to manifest the life that I’ve dreamed of, I decided to pick it back up.
Strong, Clear-minded Desire
The principles in this book are clear and can be applied by anyone. The simple breakdown is that if you want something you must be clear in exactly what you want, strong in your desire, and fiercely determined to have it. You can’t be wishy washy. You can’t teeter back and forth. “Make up your mind to succeed and you will.”
I will admit, I know how tough it is to be clear-minded and strong in your desire for something — especially a brand new idea that you just happened upon. As a Libra, I’ve been chastised for being indecisive many a time but the more I ponder indecision, the more I see it as a form of fear. Indecision comes from the fear of being wrong or making a mistake.
If you eliminate the idea of wrongness and embrace the possibility of a mistake, then you can confidently stand behind any idea that makes your heart sing. Try to fight the impulse to ask for others’ opinions and entertain it for some time to let your desire grow without added pressure.
Have the courage to WANT. To DESIRE. To start the journey to your wild and crazy dream (or your conventional goal — no discrimination against different kinds of goals!). You don’t need a whole roadmap, just the first step.
I’ll leave you with a beautiful poem from Think and Grow Rich, “My Wage” by Jessie B. Rittenhouse:
I bargained with Life for a penny
and Life would pay no more,
However I begged at evening
When I counted my scanty score.For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ask,
But once you have set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.I worked for a menial’s hire
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of Life,
Life would have willingly paid.
Happy dreaming and Happy Creating!
Have you found the secret to enjoying the transition phases between reaching your dreams and goals? Leave a comment with your experience or thoughts on the matter. I’m curious to hear more ways to incorporate joy into this perpetual transition!
Originally posted on my personal blog Brightly Illuminated, where I document my perspective as a millennial post-grad trying to make sense of the “real world” through a lens of positivity and self-development.
