How To Keep Dreaming When You're Feeling Stagnant

Patti and I often talk about what we're grateful for. Today we marveled at how seven months have passed since we rented Serendipity Studios, and how grateful we are to have ended up in this beautiful space.

Having a robust business in an inspiring and creative space has been a dream of Patti's for decades. She delayed her dreams to raise two incredible children, and is now making them come true while watching her kids do wonderful things on their own. Patti is an inspiration to me because she never stopped dreaming. Her story is so very different from mine as she had to wait for her dreams to come true, but she never gave up on them.

When I agreed with Patti that I was grateful for our studio, I realized that my dreams had come true as well. I've accomplished everything my 16 year-old self had set out to do: I graduated from college, married a man I can't say enough about, bought a house, became fully self employed, and moved into my own studio. Within five years all of my dreams have come true, so why am I still wishing for more?

What we often forget while racing to the finish line is to enjoy life along the way. It's like when mom goes hiking. When I go hiking, I complain about being out of breath, slapping mosquitos, and sweating, wondering if the view at the top is worth the nuisance it takes to get there. Mom is in zen mode the entire way up. She appreciates the tranquility of nature, the rivers trickling, the birds singing, and the scent of balsam fir on the breeze. The view from the top may be the end goal, but she doesn't allow that to distract her from the time it takes to get there.

We spend more time hiking to the top than we do enjoying the view at the top. It's astounding when we get there, but on the peak of that mountain we soon begin looking for the next one to summit. It's the same with our dreams.

When we reach what we once considered ultimate success, we expect to be in a constant state of happiness. This is only true if we've allowed ourselves to enjoy the process of attaining our dreams.

And once we do achieve our dreams, we may fall into feeling stagnant. If we have everything we've ever dreamed of, what do we do now? What do we push for? I believe that life is about evolving and striving to improve, which is why we need to keep dreaming and dreaming profound and incredible things.

How To Keep Dreaming When You're Feeling Stagnant

Enjoy The Journey- Yes, this is almost cliche now, but we spend more time working towards our dreams than we do when they've been accomplished.
     Why? If you don't enjoy life while you're striving for your dreams, you're less likely to feel fulfilled when you get there.

Spend Time Alone In Nature- Introspection is what allows us to verbalize how we feel and what we want. Spend time by a pond, in the woods, or on a quiet beach to minimize distraction.
     Why? Nature is disconnected from people and technology. It allows us to look deeply within ourselves and find the answers we've been looking for.

Compete With Yourself- Look within yourself instead of around and press on to do better. Your dreams are what make you happy while other people have their own dreams. They may seem wonderful to you, but they're not going to make you happy.
     Why? There's no better dream crusher than comparing yourself to others.

Be Limitless- Take the dream you achieved and make it bigger. Expand your business, re-design your home, train for a marathon- dream of what scares you or you think is impossible.
     Why? By expanding on a dream you've already achieved, you are building upon a solid foundation and pushing yourself further.

Revisit Your Passions- When you feel you've exhausted all possibilities in your current latitude, revisit your passions of the past. Dust off those entrepreneurial books, pull out those blueprints, or pick-up your old hobbies and explore the potential.
     Why? Many successful people have achieved their dreams by utilizing a passion completely unrelated to their former job or lifestyle. By taking a different direction than what they intended, they were able to do greater things.

I'd love to hear from you! How do you keep yourself motivated when your dreams seem out of reach, or you've achieved them and don't know where to go?