In my recent posts I’ve been reflecting on where I’m at in my life, and I came to the realization that dreams have been essential to my journey thus far. Dreams and aspirations are something that we encourage young people to develop, but this encouragement stops once you reach a certain age. Upon entering high school, life becomes more about meeting benchmarks and keeping up with the crowd and less about working toward the future that you want to have.
After graduating from high school, my dreams for my future were rekindled as I entered the unknown world of college. That familiar rush of excitement that was lost for a few years came flooding back, and thoughts about all of the possibilities that were ahead of me filled my mind.
The other day as I was enjoying a few moments of self-reflection, I realized what role dreams have played in my everyday life. On those days where I dread getting out of my warm and soft bed to face the long hours ahead, dreams have motivated me to get up and face the day with a smile. When it feels as though I am working nonstop, dreams motivate me to try harder and find the blessings in my tasks. When I start to lose sight of the bigger picture, dreams refocus that lens and allow me to see the purpose of what I’m working towards.
My dreams for my future also give me insight into my subconscious desires. My dream for owning as little as possible and filling my life with human connection illuminated my desire for a simple life. My dream for living in a country different from my own revealed my desire to leave my comfort zone and what is known, and embrace different cultures and experiences.
Dreams allow you to strive for the future that you want to create for yourself, and to stay focused and intentional on your journey. Throughout my life my dreams have changed according to my experiences, but their existence has always motivated me to be the best that I can be. When high school classes and extracurriculars were overwhelming, my dreams gave me the motivation to continue and follow the path to college. Now that I am in college, my dreams for my future inspire me to take the path less traveled and be open to all opportunities that cross my path.
Recently I have taken up nightly journaling again, a practice that went by the wayside in the past year. Part of this reflection includes writing down my dreams and aspirations, whether they’re for the week, month, or year. For example, my aspiration for this week was intentionality (selectively choosing what activities to engage in based upon my emotional energy), and my dream for the year is to live a fulfilling life that encourages me to follow my passions and live simply so that others may simply live. I write these in my planner to remind me of what is yet to come, and often find myself looking back at them for inspiration throughout the week.
Though this year has been the busiest of my life, I am loving every moment as I work towards my dreams 🙂 What are your dreams for the future? How have your dreams helped you get to where you are today?
©2016 The Wise Willow and Alyssa DeBella. All rights reserved.
I love the idea of nightly journaling, what a great idea! Dreams have so much meaning behind them and it’s incredible the way our subconscious mind works! I think the dreams you’ve had have really beautiful meanings! I loved reading this! XO -Kim
http://www.thethirtysomethinglife.com
Thank you so much! Nightly journaling has been a wonderful way to reflect, and it is great to look back on where we were in the past. They do have so much meaning! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
xx Alyssa