Self-Improvement
5 Ways a Dream Brings Purpose to Your Life
#2. You’re creating something that never existed
Broadly there are two kinds of dreams:
- The first one that wets you ( or not ), indulges you or straight-up wakes you, and
- The second one doesn’t let you sleep.
Here is the dream I achieved before finishing college: securing a job where I don’t need an office while working flexible hours with reasonable pay.
It turns out patience and grit are harder to build than Instagram says. Once I realised my potential, I quit my desk job within 7 months.
When the pandemic started, I discussed starting my blogging streak ( since my fitness streak worked well ) with a friend. He incited me because he is a motivation wizard. I slogged for four months straight — daily.
Now I am back after 7 months of an on-off relationship with writing.
The energy is different this time. I am chasing the dream again, and now, I have a better plan than the last time.
I am also seeing how following my dream has impacted other areas of my life, like friends, family, community, and habits.
Here are 5 ways a dream adds meaning to your life. The list I have made is exhaustive, but there are many other reasons why fighting for your dreams is a life worth living.
#1. It gives you a reason to wake up every day
Writing first thing in the morning is how I made the daily habit effective.
If you finish the most important task when you wake up, you have an entire day to either look for ideas or plan the next day. Or feel good that you checked-off another day on your calendar.
Now, as I can write any time of the day, I wake up with a positive memory of yesterday and make it better today.
Even a smidgen of improvement is motivating because I am in it for the long haul.
#2. You’re creating something that never existed
There are stages of manifesting a dream. I am talking about the dream a typical person has in his 20s — a job where they add value to the world without seeing work as eternal overwhelm. Work feels like an adventure.
In a creative field like writing, we have a 5-year or 10-year plan.
When I bring my vision to life, my dream is to publish a book. It is non-existent right now. But since it exists in my mind, it’s only about time before it’s real.
#3. You’re growing a community
You radiate what you believe in. When you are determined, whoever meets you sees that attitude.
I am a writer. I spend a significant portion of my day observing my environment for ideas. Who am I kidding? You’re smart! I do it all the time.
While writing about whatever I believe needs a new light, I am helping people on the way.
For example, I wrote an article about “3 Steps to Make Time for Things That Matter”. This article is the latest one which is close to my heart. It has received positive reviews from friends, family and the Medium community. That means it has made a change in their life.
#4. You inspire others to follow their dreams
Inspiration is silently [ but highly ] contagious. This aspect is difficult to see. When I started daily blogging, I made a friend in a Whatsapp group.
She had started a daily blogging streak by the time I reached day 67. She continued till day 100. It’s a huge deal for both of us.
Apart from her, two more friends took charge and continued blogging for at least one month.
It happened because they were motivated by my words to take control of their life and try something they’ve been holding for so long.
#5. Learning is on steroids: Collateral advantage
You know how much mental and physical effort it takes to reach the position you see yourself in five years. Our brains are adaptable to anything if we train them long enough.
While chasing your dream, your learning is so swift that if you breathe for a while to watch how far you’ve come, the change feels like evolution.
I compare myself with the version I was in when the lockdown ( 25 March 2020 ) started. The developments I see is a huge motivation for how much wisdom I’ve gained in the past year.
I’ve learned a lot about writing, helping people, and making an impact on my life. My learning speed has also increased — something that I can’t describe in words!
Final words
Following your dreams means creating a life that gives back control of your time. It feels as sexy as it sounds.
While there are trade-offs when narrowing down your path in one direction, there are also many plus sides that we can only appreciate once we slow down to see our progress.
Once, I saw the visualisation in my first writing streak. This time I saw my journey while talking to a friend.
Everyone I talk to brings up the topic about how the hell I am pulling it off. Sometimes ( only sometimes ) even I can’t believe that one moment I’m staring at the blank screen, 30 minutes later the words are doing the same thing.
At the end of the discussion, the person on the other side is charged with motivation to do something with their life ( one of them quit his job for good ), and if we talked enough, they also pursue the thing that they have been putting on the back burner.
This is what keeps me going — knowingly or unknowingly inspiring people. Although very few have said in person that “You’re an inspiration”, I believe many more don’t know me but are still motivated by my work. If you are one of them — you keep going, my friend! If you’re not, you still deserve to hear positive words from someone. And right now, that someone is me! Cheers!
Sanjeev is a mentor at Udacity who writes about mental health, productivity, writing and lifestyle in his off-work time. When he is not clearing students’ doubts or grading projects, he is sweating either in a workout or playing badminton.
