When you think about
all the best reasons to follow your dreams, imagine what would you be doing if
you knew that you were certain to succeed and everything would go exactly as
you had hoped? I have come to realize that is a necessity, not just a Hollywood
tag line or pie in the sky idea, that we must follow our dreams. Here are 12
bonafide reasons why you should follow your dreams and follow them now.
1.
WHAT ELSE?
To start with reasons to follow your dreams ask
yourself this: If I don’t do follow my passion, then what else am I going to
do? Anything else that you end up doing will always be over shadowed by that
massive white elephant in the room called your dreams.
2.
WE NEED YOU
The world
needs as many people as possible following their dreams. We need a new
generation of doers, of inspiring people who at whatever age, whatever life
situation, decided to take a risk and follow their dreams. If contributing to
the overall awesomeness of the human race isn’t a good enough reason to follow
your dreams then I am not sure what is.
3.
BITTER OLD BIDDY
Have you ever
met a bitter old woman? If you have, you know that there alone stands more than
enough reasons to follow your dreams. Ask yourself if, in 80 years time, when
all has been said and done, will I be thankful I played it safe or will I look
back in anger resenting the time that I wasted being too scared to make a move?
4.
YOU NEVER KNOW
An extremely powerful reason to follow your dreams
is that you never know what could happen. It seems to be that when our doing is
in harmony with our desires, as in we are working towards what we really want, and
then we start to build up a powerful momentum. From there – anything could
happen.
5.
NO WHAT IFS
You may not see yourself as being bitter when you
grow old, but will you have any what ifs? Will you look outside your window and
wonder how different it could have all been had you listened to yourself and
trusted that it would all be worth it in the end?
6.
ADD A LITTLE INTEREST
Talking to different people is another way to
realize a reason to follow your dreams. Have you ever spoken to someone who is
going after their dreams and felt inspired? People who follow their dreams run
on a different energy level, they are putting into action what it is they want
to do — it’s interesting and it’s exciting. On the same note, have you ever
spoken to someone who has this great idea but hasn’t really done anything about
it, or speaks about what they with the enthusiasm of a door knob? How did you
feel when leaving that conversation? You decide which one you want to be.
7.
THE UNIVERSE CONSPIRES
This is where
I get all airy-fairy on you, but I truly believe that if we follow our dreams
and listen to ourselves, then the Universe starts to work with us. How many
times have you heard of ‘lucky breaks’ and ‘perfect timing’ situations? There’s
no such thing as luck. You put a certain amount of effort in the right
direction and then your efforts pay off. If what you are doing now feels like
it just isn’t working, never has and never will work, then maybe that’s the
Universe trying to tell you something?
8.
MATCHMAKER
This point is similar to the reason above for
following your dreams but instead it is about people. If we are feeding our
passions and living out our dreams, then we are more likely to attract the
right people in our lives. How many times have you heard of people taking off
travelling and coming back with their soul mate? Or packing in their secure job
for some random farfetched dream only to meet the love of their life in the
same profession? Until we are ready to follow our dreams, maybe we are not
ready for the people who would help fulfill them.
9.
SHARE THE LOVE
We all say we want to help others if only we were in
the position to, but often it is by doing what is best for ourselves that we
are able to do the best for others. How can you give to others if you are not
giving yourself the chance to be truly happy? A rewarding reason to follow your
dreams is that others will directly or indirectly end up benefiting from them.
10.
SHINING EXAMPLE
I sometimes think about what type of parent I hope
to be. I want to be able to inspire my kids and fill them with the confidence
and strength to do whatever it is that makes them happiest. Instead of telling
my kids reasons to follow their dreams, I would love to be an example of why to
and come from a place of experience instead of regret.
11.
THE DAILY GRIND
It is all well and good to talk about the future,
how it’ll be in years to come if we do or do not follow our dreams. However, I
think the most valuable reason to follow your dreams lies in the day to day.
How happy are you? Are you greeting each day as a chore to get through or are
you waking up with an energy and enthusiasm that comes from knowing you are
being true to who you are and what you want?
12.
WORK WITH WHAT YOU HAVE
Each and every single one of us has something that
we are good at, a talent, a knack or a skill. If we are slogging away at data
entry (which is fine if you are happy doing it) whilst in our heads there’s a
gripping novel or innovative invention, then we are not making the most of what
we have got. Nurture your talents – you have them for a reason. Following our
dreams can be as simple as enrolling in an evening course or packing up shop
and buying a ticket to the Himalayas. It is not the scale of our dreams that
matters, it’s that we feed them and nurture them so that we can realize our
full potential. I know that we all have responsibilities and for many of us it
is just not that simple, but is it any easier to go on knowing that if given
the chance, you would do it differently? Has anyone else got any inspiring
reasons to*follow your dreams? Or maybe fears about taking the risk?
