Have you ever felt like you were in the movie Groundhog Day? Like everyday is exactly the same as the one before. You wonder if there is anything else to this life other than reheating the same cup of coffee, reading the same bedtime story, and just living life on replay.
We’ve all had that feeling at least once in a while. And for some of us it comes regularly. We long for a sense of fulfillment and purpose. While we love our kids, we want something for ourselves that makes us feel like we are contributing to society.
We long for a life that allows us to enjoy the things that are important to us, that has time and resources for the things that matter. We wish we had our dream life.
The wonderful thing is that it is totally possible to live your dream life. However, it may take some vision, some work, and some planning. But when has anything worthwhile been easy?
The steps to achieving your dream life are simple, but take self-motivation and effort. The reward is a happy, fulfilling life doing what you love, and that is totally worth it.
What is Your Dream Life?
In order to start working towards living your dream life, you need to know what that dream life is. Initially, we may have a vague image of the life that we want: more time with family, work doing something you love, sufficient money. But that is not a clear enough vision.
in order to work towards living our dream life we need something more specific. What exactly does it look like, what does it feel like, how do you spend your days?
To create a real vision for your dream life you need to write it down. Take 10-15 minutes to journal about what your dream life would look like. Believe me, this is time well spent.
The following are categories to consider when writing out your dream life.
Work
What do you do for work? How much of your day do you spend doing work? Do you work for a company or for yourself? Do you work from home or in an office? How does your work make you feel? Is your work flexible to fit around family life?
Money
What kind of an income are you making? is your spouse working and making an income as well? Are you super well off or just comfortable? Do you have enough income to go on vacation when you want or is your real life a vacation? What does your retirement plan look like?
Lifestyle
What does a day in your life look like? What kind of car are you driving? Where do you live? What does your house look like? Do you live on the same house you are living in now? What renovations have been done? Do you have household help or do you do housework on your own with your family members?
Family
How many children do you have? What does family time look like? Are you able to go on school trips and stay home on snow days? Do you go on family vacations? Is extended family included on those trips? How does family make you feel?
Self Care
Do you make it for daily exercise? What is your health like? Are you and your family enjoying healthy food and meals? Do you go on spa days or get massages? Do you hang out with friends regularly? Do you listen to podcasts? Do you make time to read?
These are just some questions to help you get started, but I want you to go deep and detailed. Your dream life should elicit a visceral reaction. When you read your dream life vision you should be able to feel it and it should feel amazing!
This is all well and good if you have an idea of the life you want but just need to make it more concrete. But what if you don’t have any idea of where you want to be in life? What if you don’t know what you are passionate about?
How Do I Figure Out Where I Want to Be in Life?
So what if you know you are not content with the life you have at the moment, but you don’t quite know what you would want to be doing instead? Here are some things you can think about in order to find work that will help you feel fulfilled
7 Steps to Find Your Passion
When was the last time you felt like your heart was full? What were you doing that caused that feeling? Were you teaching a friend to do something you figured out? Were you preparing a home cooked meal? Find work that allows you to do the thing that fills your heart.
Look at the media you consume, the activities you pursue and the things you buy. Is there a theme? Find a way to incorporate that theme into work.
What is a hobby that you had growing up but you have since stopped? Can you take that up again? Try it and see if it still evokes the same love that you had while growing up. If so, find work that relates to it.
What is something that you have always wanted to do but kept talking yourself out of it? You kept rationalizing about why it’s not a good time or it's not rational or it’s silly. Try it and see where it takes you.
Bring energy and enthusiasm to everything you do. Even the most mundane tasks can inspire and motivate you when you attack them with energy. If you can’t find a way to love something that you do, delegate it or maybe don’t do it at all.
What do you love to talk about or teach about? Are you always talking about how to eat healthy or the latest fashion trends? If you can’t think of something yourself ask your closest friends and family members, they’ll definitely know.
If you think you might be passionate about something, take action. Write about it, make a video, or record a podcast. It doesn’t cost much to put these things out there and it is only by doing and you can determine what you are really passionate about.
What Can I Do To Achieve My Dream Life?
Now that you have a clear idea of where you want to be in life and what your dream life will look like, you need to know how to get there. You need a plan.
Step 1: Celebrate What You Have
Some things about your dream life you may already have. You may have a wonderful spouse, and great kids. You may love your car or love your house or love your job.
Celebrate the things you have that are already a part of your dream life vision. These things are already a step in the right direction and are worthy of acknowledging.
in my post on celebrating small victories I discuss why it is so important not to overlook the little things that go right. You didn’t get this far towards your dream life by accident. So celebrate it!
You may not be at your end goal yet, but that doesn’t mean you have nothing accomplished. Celebrate where you are right now!
Step 2: Incremental Steps
Next look at one aspect of your life that is not quite at your dream life status.
Let’s say that one part of your dream life vision is having more one on one time with your spouse with weekly date nights. Is this something that you can start working on now?
If you currently have date night once a month, make it a goal to have twice a month dates. Start small and work your way up. Not only can this improve your relationship, but you can feel satisfaction that you are getting closer and closer to your dream life.
For another example, let’s say that you are passionate about teaching other women about your super successful potty training method. Start joining Facebook groups for moms of babies and toddlers and answer any question you see about potty training. This is the first step in getting recognized as a potty training expert and can set you up to create a business helping moms potty train their toddlers.
(By the way, if you are in fact a potty training expert, feel free to send tips my way. My girl likes to sit on the potty and she likes to tell me that she has peed after the fact, but she doesn’t seem to get the connection between the two… )
The best part of this is that each baby step will bring you closer and closer to your dream life. As you slowly approach the life you want, the satisfaction you have for the life you are living right now will increase.
Step 3: Communicate
You may now have a clear vision of how you want your life to be, but it will also affect your family. Take the time to discuss your vision with your spouse. Talk about what you want for yourself and your family and how you plan to achieve it.
If they seem unsettled by your vision, take the time to discuss their concerns and explain how you can accommodate for those things. Don’t take their concerns as them doubting you or your abilities. The people in your life just want to make sure that you’ve thought things out, that you are aware of how changes will affect the family. They need to know that you have a plan to make it work or are willing to work together to create one.
Change can be scary and your spouse and family members may have legitimate fears on how the changes you want to make will affect them. Try not to get defensive. Have open and honest conversations and communicate regularly.
Ask your spouse about their dream life and do your best to meld your dreams together. When you both have the vision of a happy satisfying life, it is a ton easier to achieve it. You don’t want to be doing all this work by yourself in the corner while your spouse and family are oblivious to your efforts and goals. Have a family vision that you can all work on together.
If you are looking for more guidance on communicating your dreams or your new business venture with your spouse check out this post from Jenna Kutcher. She is talking about getting your spouse on board with your business but it can also apply to getting them on board with your dream life.
Step 4: Set Goals
If your current life is far from your ideal life, you are going to need to make changes to get there. In order to do that, setting goals is key.
If your overall goal is to make money online, turn that into a SMART goal. Then break it down and make a plan to achieve it. If your goal is buying that dream house, set a money saving goal so that you can afford it. If your goal is getting your degree, set a goal to enroll in a program to earn it.
I have a post all about creating SMART goals and actually achieving them which breaks down this process. It shows you how to select a motivating goal that gives you a specific time frame and milestone to achieve. I then discuss how you break down that goal so that you can stay motivated and get it done.
How Can I Live My Dream Life Today?
Here are five ways you can start living your dream life today.
Stop believing that you cannot be a good parent and pursue your dreams at the same time. See my post on balancing family life and personal goals.
Listen to these motivational talks when you find that you are lacking in motivation.
Follow the example of other successful women. Check out these habits of highly successful women.
Create a morning routine that sets yourself up for success. You can find posts on creating your morning routine here and here.
Do the things that bring you happiness and stop the things that don’t. Do the things that make your mind and body feel good.
What is one step you can take right now to bring you closer to your dream life? Share it in the comments and lets support each other. We shouldn’t have to wait for the life we want. Let’s create it right now!
Cheers,
Emily
