As a mom, when it comes to goal setting these days, I tend to take more of a dreamers approach.
Setting lofty goals and making rooms for dreams can be a super scary prospect. The idea of commitment, or failure, or rigidness comes forward. And the idea of sticking to a schedule or controlling the outcome of a goal can keep us from ever going after it in the first place.
But dreams are a bit more whimsical. Sometimes even a tad spiritual. And guided by something deep within ourselves.
Let me ask, when was the last time you let your thoughts wander to daydreams? The kind that seem unrealistic, unattainable, but fun to think about an ponder.
Dreams and daydreams personally transport me back to my tween and teenage years. They were a way of life then.
-the dream of going to college
-the dream of getting a job
-the dream of finding my ‘handsome prince’
-the dream of owning a home (with white picket fence)
-the dream of becoming a ‘mom’
My dreams were all centered around more freedom and becoming an adult.
It’s funny how quickly I wanted to speed up time and become an grown up. What I didn’t realize was how adulthood brought bigger responsibility and expectations, which whether we like it or not can diminish our dreamer ways.
After I went to college, met the ‘prince’, bought the ‘house’, and was working full time I pushed my imagination aside and began thinking more and more about the practicalities of life.
Those practicalities made any thoughts of dreaming feel impossible.
Dreams and goals = change.
And if we allow it to, change gets harder as we get older and more settled.
We’re afraid to rock the boat, afraid to push the status quo, afraid that our fresh wishes won’t be in alignment with the life we’ve been living, afraid these dreams won’t work out in the way we’ve perfectly crafted them in our minds.
So we stifle our goals and dreams to whispers. Whispers we quiet and shush every time they come floating by.
They’re not practical.
They don’t fit.
They’re selfish.
They’re not perfect.
Here’s the secret….your dreams weren’t made to be practical or perfect.
They’re made to bring you deeper into alignment with what brings you most joy.
But, you have to be willing to make tiny changes, speak those dreams out loud, and take a new course of action to allow them space to come true.
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Here’s my latest dream:
Last summer on a beach in Costa Rica, while on a retreat for creative business owners, I wrote down a 20 year dream to own my own retail space. I went totally outside the box sharing that I wanted it to be part coffee shop, part bookstore, part classroom.
A ‘connection hub’ is what I called it.
Without any intention to exploring further I tucked the dream in my notebook and whispered ‘See ya in 20 years’.
Fast forward to last month, while sitting in a coffee shop with my photographer and teacher buddy Alicia of Love Knot Photo we joked that renting a space would be awesome so we could stop being ‘coffee shop squatters’.
We spent all afternoon envisioning our own ‘connection hub’.
A co-working space where a group of creative entrepreneurs could share in the rent and afford their own creative home away from home.
We posted a picture on Facebook, of us swooning over a building in Downtown Leesburg and then tucked our dream away telling it we’d return to it soon. ‘See ya in 5 years’
Except that photo created quite a buzz. And the energy surrounding the dream started to resonate at a higher vibration.
And then as if by magic the dream took shape and became real.
We’ll be moving into the 3rd floor of Finch Sewing Studio in Downtown Leesburg August to begin the work of planning the bigger vision. And in the meantime we’ll be using the space as our own ‘connection hub’.
We’re buidling out a classroom in ‘The Loft’ as we’re lovingly calling it to lead workshops, teach classes, and work with clients.
The space needs a bit of TLC and you’ll be the first to see our progress as it transforms. If you’re in the DC area, we hope you’ll come see the space during an open house once it’s complete.
(And if you want to be among the first to LEARN in the space with me, my next Momtographie class is scheduled there for August 15th. Click HERE for details or to register)
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If you’ve got a dream you’re holding close to your heart, I want you to know that it is perfectly crafted just for you.
The power of watching it unfold lies in your willingness to receive it and open your heart to it.
So let’s do that now, shall we?
It’s your turn to speak a dream out loud. Without overthinking. Without reservation. Without a commitment to making it happen right now.
This is all about allowing your dreams to flow through you and out of you to make space for the fresh experiences you want to craft in your life.
The ones that will make you feel the most alive and bring you the greatest joy.
Because that’s the real reason you’re here on this planet, yes?
To feel alive.
To feel connected.
To feel joy.
To get started, I want you to grab a piece of paper or a journal and write down 5 dreams you’ve never told anyone.
Which dream sounds the most fun to explore right now? (no matter how unrealistic).
Tell me about it in the comments.
I’m holding space for you, your life, and your dreams.
Because if you trust them enough to say them aloud and give them room to grow, they just might come true.
(P.S. Photo credits go out to my lovely lofty roomate Alicia at Love Knot Photo)
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