How to Start and Sustain Your Dreams
Every single person I’ve ever met has dreams.
There are things they want to do. There are things they believe in. There are things they want to create.
Whether it’s a dream as big as the sky or an intimate corner of their heart, there are things that they want to be, do and have in this life.
Most of these people with dreams never even start them. Whether it’s fear, avoidance, lack of belief, scarcity or a cocktail of those and more, a large amount of people never even take one step toward their desires. Big or small.
Somewhere along the way, they stop and block it before they have a chance to begin.
Some of these people do create the courage to start in the direction of their dreams. And then, they do not sustain it or see it through to completion.
These people get in the game and no matter how much they want it, they fall off. It becomes a distant memory and shrugged off as “Well, I tried.” Or “I just can’t”.
They exit the game either consciously or subconsciously. They started and did not sustain it. They did not fulfill, complete or become what they desired. Their dreams begin and then die.
And finally, there is a small number of people who start and sustain their visions and dreams. They see it through. They get in the game, stay there and create what they imagined.
These people do what they want to, embody what they believe in and create what matters to them.
These people become, hold and live their dreams.
So, what gives?
Whether it’s drinking the amount of water to feel healthy, starting a business, cooking amazing recipes, flying around the world, being an amazing partner or even the habit of taking a deep breath before reacting - some people start and sustain what creates their dream life and others don’t.
What gives is not the perceived size of the goal and dream.
That doesn’t matter.
What gives is not where they started or what privileges they may or may not have had.
That doesn’t matter.
What gives is the state of their mind and heart. It’s their mindset and heart-set.
This is what matters.
These people follow their heart and set up their mind to support it.
Today I share three shifts that, if you embody them, can take you from someone who never starts or someone who starts and stops, to someone that starts, sustains and lives it out.
These three shifts will support you in starting and sustaining literally anything.
Action doesn’t follow motivation. Motivation follows action.
“I’m just not motivated.”
Ahh. If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard this!
This mindset and belief system is at the root of why people don’t start things.
Wipe away all the fear, doubt and scarcity - if this is still running the show, there is no way starting will take place.
There is a belief that motivation is something that someone either has or doesn’t have. There is also a belief that motivation is needed to begin.
Both of these are false. Both keep people in the victim seat.
Instead, what would it be like to know that motivation is something you create?
Motivation is a result of taking action. It’s the opposite.
If I have the goal to run a mile as part of my dream of health and vitality, waiting around on the couch for motivation to strike is what keeps me from starting. Stop waiting and start creating!
Instead, I can start with a mile walk. I will feel fantastic afterwards. I will feel proud of myself. I will start to create trust with myself and believe in what I can do.
The next day, I will feel more motivated because I felt how it feels to show up for myself.
It’s really that simple! Motivation follows action.
Take action. And then, take it again. And again. And again.
You will create a snowball of momentum and motivation. You will inspire yourself!
You don’t need to be motivated. You need to act.
It doesn’t need to be a big grand gesture, and honestly, you’ll be more successful if it’s not.
Nike was onto something. Just do it! Just start.
Big or small, start.
This is where your dreams begin.
Action does not follow motivation. Motivation follows action.
It’s not something you do. It’s someone you are.
After starting, this is how sustain is accessed. This is the shift that takes people from the group of “those who start” to the group of “those who sustain”.
Continuing with the running example, running is not something that you do, it’s who you are now!
This shift is everything.
You are not someone who runs, you are a runner.
That means when your alarm clock goes off in the morning for that morning workout, you don’t even think twice about it.
“I am a runner. I run”
In this shift, the dream or goal stops being a decision each day and instead it is just who you are. It’s true embodiment.
This goes way past mindset. This is mindset, body and heart.
Without this shift, there is no way I would be even be writing this blog. In the past year and my entire life really, I’ve shifted my identity and embodiment more times than I can count.
I am a successful business woman.
I am a thought leader.
I am a leader in education.
I am a coach.
I am a yoga teacher.
I am a healthy human.
I am an honest friend.
I am an inspiring teacher.
I am a Chicagoan.
I am a reliable neighbor.
I am a writer.
I am.
I am.
I am.
If I had the belief, “I write blogs” instead of “I am a blogger” or “I write” instead of “I am a writer”, the likelihood that I may not have sustained this contribution goes up by a lot!
Truth be told, I’m not always motivated to write. Gasp!
However, that doesn’t matter.
I blog because I am a blogger. I write because I am a writer.
This seemingly subtle shift can catapult you into a surge of sustain, momentum and as a result, your inevitable success.
If I was deciding each day, every time lack of motivation showed up, it would open a window into abandoning my dreams.
Break that window. Stop deciding each day if you will do it and simply be it.
It’s not something you do. It’s someone you are.
You must gain command over your impulses.
There are those that start, those that start and sustain, and those that bring it all the way home.
This final shift is what you pick up as you round third and slide on into the home of your dreams, goals and desires.
There is sustaining action and there is sustaining identity.
I believe that to sustain identity, especially, gaining command over impulses is a requirement.
Not only do I believe it, I witness it as one of the key needle movers in the lives of my successful clients and in my own life.
People who achieve and live their dreams have command over their impulses. They are not run by them. They embody mindfulness when an impulse pops up and they choose better.
They choose their highest self and who they choose to be rather than an impulsive urge.
If I have the goal or dream to have amazing health and vitality, I start and embody the new person I am. I change my eating habits, hydration, workouts and mental health routines.
I do all of that and guess what, I’m still human! I have urges. I have impulses. I have cravings just like anyone else.
This is what happens when dream livers have an impulse - they pause. They pause and ask, “Is this really what I want to do?” or “Does this align with who I am now?”.
In this pause, they protect, cherish and have reverence for who they are and the dreams they are creating. It becomes “I just don’t do that anymore” or “That’s not who I am.” rather than buying and devouring the pop and candy on an impulse.
People who create and live their dreams are not at the mercy of their impulses or temporary craving. These people are living beyond that and choose differently. They don’t allow their old habits or compulsive habits to win. They operate from emotional intelligence and maturity.
It is only through this final step, gaining command of impulses, that people round third and slide home into the life and creations of their dreams.
Albert Einstein famously said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”
This final group of people, whom I deem high performers, are acutely aware of the truth of this statement.
They gain command over their impulses because they know that continuing to do what they’ve always done will create what they’ve always created. They gain command over their impulses because they know that to create new, to live a dream, they must become a new version of themselves.
They want a different result, so they do things differently.
They don’t just talk about it. They actually do it.
You must gain command over your impulses.
Start, sustain and bring it home!
These three mind and heart shifts are the building blocks that take people from the majority - those that never start, never sustain or never achieve their dreams - to those that do.
Just like any building blocks, they can be built to create an amazing empire.
Just like any building blocks, they can be knocked down in flames too.
When I give in an impulse that doesn’t match who I’ve decided to be, it knocks me back. I break trust with myself.
When I say I do something rather than I am someone, I open windows for myself to not show up. I knock my feet out from underneath me.
When I wait for motivation to strike, I choose stagnation and the victim seat. I knock out my dreams with my beliefs before they can even begin.
Today, I invite you to rise. Start, sustain and bring it home!
Journal Prompts:
What have you been waiting for motivation to start that you can act on today?
How can you change your language and identity to take out daily decisions and simply be that person now?
What impulses are you currently letting win that are blocking you from actually creating your goal or dream?
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Halftime Pulse Check - FREE MASTERCLASS - Date TBD
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May these mind and heart shifts support you in your creation and living your fullest, truest and most you, dreams.
Your dreams are your birthright. It’s your responsibility to create them!
In love, truth and limitless support of your dreams,
⭐️ Adrienne
