What are you doing this summer? Beach vacation? Driving cross country? Exploring a new city? Family staycation?
I hope you have some fun summer plans that get you out of your routine.
Breaking out of our routines is a great way to get inspired, get creative, get dreaming. When we get out of our routines we have to stop living by habit. It can be fun or it can be frustrating. Either way it makes us take fresh action, which can lead to fresh thinking…
I hope your summer brings you a little down time too. (Bonus points if you get uninterrupted time sitting by water with an iced coffee or fruity drink in hand with no interruptions from your kids.)
Down time, quiet, space all let us dream. If this isn’t part of your summer plan, I encourage you to seek it out, whether it’s a weekend away or an hour this afternoon.
Amazing Change Starts with Dreams
What happens when you let yourself dream?
Do you get excited? Do you get a little scared? Do you get overwhelmed wondering where to start?
All that’s normal. I ask just one thing of you: Don’t shut down your dreams.
This summer give yourself permission to explore your dreams.
Do you want to start a business? Write a book? Launch a nonprofit? Finish that family photo project you envisioned three years ago?
Think about a campfire that you are trying to get started. Breathe a little air into smoldering coals, and you get a tiny flame. You keep tending it, give it just enough wood, just enough air at the right time until you have a steady blaze.
You can do that with your dreams. Right now, just breathe a little life into them. Don’t overcrowd them by piling too much wood on. Give them time and attention.
Set yourself up to really be blazing in the fall.
Here are three things you can do this summer to explore the life you are dreaming of:
- Describe your ideal day. If you had 24 hours to do anything you wanted, no restrictions, what would you do? Really let yourself be free on this one. You don’t need to finance this dream or get a babysitter. Just let yourself put down on paper what you would do if it were all up to you.
- Journal daily. Creating a journaling habit is a great way to check in on your dreams. Stuck getting started? Try “I love” as a prompt and just list things you love. Do another “I want.” Write things you are good at. Write things you have accomplished in your life. Write 3 things you are grateful for today. The more in touch you get with yourself the more in touch you can get with your dreams.
- Explore one thing related to your dream. Get curious. Learn a little more about what it would take to make your dream come true. Do you dream of starting a bakery? Spend 15 minutes online researching food industry regulations or email the owner of the bakery you met on vacation and ask if you can set up a brief chat about it. Would you love to see your photographs on display some place? Make of list of potential sites including galleries, local businesses that feature local artists, your library, or community spaces to rent where you could run your own show. (Just make the list today—tomorrow’s task can be sending emails to them.)
This summer could be a time of amazing change. Let yourself fan the flames of your dreams. Spend some time getting clear on what you want, and take the first little steps toward doing something about them. Make a plan for fall.
Your schedule and your energy will likely change in September. When that happens, you can be really fired up to move purposefully toward your dreams.
Know you are ready for amazing change? I’d love to work with you to make that happen. With Imagined 1:1, I’ll work with you for 6 weeks to make space for you and your dreams. Reach out and let’s see if it’s our time to work together to set your fire ablaze.
