HAPPINESS

This article is for those who have dreams, visions and goals; people who want to make meaning out of their lives. It is very important that you are reading this right now because it is never enough just to dream, never enough just to desire and wish, and never enough just to hope for the best. A lot of work goes into realizing your dreams. Plenty of action is required for you to actually live out that life you always imagine in your mind and think in your thoughts. Working hard may not be a problem for some people but, there is something that prevents them from coming to the point of working hard and putting in all it takes to achieve their goals.

There is a big gulf that exists between the time of dreaming and setting of goals, and the time of actually achieving those goals and living them in reality. You need a vehicle to carry you from point A to point B. And this vehicle is called passion! This is where the problem lies for most people because they lack the fire lighted by passion to pursue their goals and aspirations.

Dad used to always say that the burning desire of a man is the prophecy of his destiny. Think over those words carefully and you’ll realize that they are very true. Whatever drives you today will make you tomorrow. Lack the drive and you’ll lack fulfillment; lose it halfway and you’ll lose sight of your target before getting there. How many people today wanted to be doctors, lawyers, engineers, sports men and women, artists, politicians, etc, but ended up doing something else and being none of these, never achieving their lofty aims? Too many of them because they either lacked the passion to fuel their pursuits or lost it halfway.

You might argue that many of them could not finally achieve their life dreams due to difficulties or hardships, or just couldn’t make it in school or place of training, which is very possible. But again, there are people who were in the same shoes as they were, or even worse, but still succeeded in reaching their high targets. I see some of them every day and they only serve to inspire me the more. Have you heard of the saying, ‘where there is a will there is a way’? This will is the passion which pushes you to find a way. It gives you inspiration to see clearly and uncover unknown tracks that you never knew existed which will finally lead to your destination.

Am talking about the passion that inspires! It is a fire; it burns; it sets your heart and mind ablaze; it lights the way for you to see through to your destination. Ever seen a dry wild bush set on fire? The fire never relents; it never stops until it burns the whole length and breadth of the track right to its end. This is exactly what passion for your dreams and goals does for you. It sets your heart and mind ablaze, and you cannot rest or let up until you get right to the end. Let your dreams set you ablaze today to pursue your goals until you actually live them out. How can you do this?

Praying
Pray to the Almighty with all devotion and see the miracle happening ,believe in whatever you do .God is within you and not outside .

  Are you a Dreamer? Have you ever said, (wistfully, not in regret), " I wish!" You could be expressing a dream. Do you ever find yourself imagining where you would like to be, geographically or circumstantially? Hey! That's a dream!

Have you seen a situation in the world and thought, "If only I could do something to change that"? That is the beginning of a noble dream. In the back of your mind do you ever feel, " I deserve better than this"? Could that be a suppressed dream? Can you see where we are going with this? It may seem strange, but sometimes we have a 'dream' without really being aware of it. Sometimes that Dream becomes a Goal. So, what is the difference between a 'dream' and a 'goal'? A dream is an idea, the product of imagination, a thought or may be a fantasy. What about the meaning of a goal (in the context of life rather than sports)? As always, there are many definitions, but the common thread is that it is a 'specific situation that is achievable within a certain time frame'. This introduces a whole set of requirements for us if we are to change our dreams into real goals. -- The goal needs to be Specific -- Has to be Measurable -- It needs to be Attainable -- It should be Real -- It has to have a Timeframe. Let's just enlarge those points;

The goal needs to be specific. For example, your dream may be to, "Have lots of money". What is 'a lot'? When would you like to have it? What do you want it for? Why do you want it? These and other questions need to be addressed before your dream becomes a tangible, real, goal. In fact the more precise or specific you can be, the more likely you are to achieve your goal. In fact, unless it is specific - how will you know when you have achieved it? You may have a dream to help children in need, or help the homeless, but noble as that is, it is too vague. You need to specify perhaps, a certain group of children, a geographic location, as with the homeless, - maybe the needy in your own town to start with. Your 'dream' might be to travel, but where, by what means of transport, when, for how long, who with etc.

Has to be Measurable. This may sound similar to 'Specific', but it also has a third party involvement, and is therefore a powerful incentive to reaching your goals. Being specific about a goal helps you to focus and visualize and when a goal is also measurable you are able to share that goal, as a tangible result, with others. You have immediately introduced the aspect of 'accountability' and as scary as that sounds, it can have a huge affect on your progress. There is a lot of difference in thinking to yourself, "I would like to quit my job, having built up my own business, with enough income to support me", and stating to friends or family, "This time next year my business will be generating $X,000 per month and I will be my own boss!". Your goal is now public and 'visible' to others - that will help you focus, believe me!

It needs to be attainable. There is nothing wrong with setting high goals for yourself, in fact if you set them too low, it can reduce your motivation to strive for them. Equally if your goals are absolutely impractical, that also can be discouraging. If it is attainable, that means that although it will take motivation, effort, action and persistence, it can be reached. Don't be put off if your goal just appears to be unattainable, many dreams started that way, mans venture into the sky and subsequently space, appeared impossible at one time, as did the four minute mile, the conquest of Mt. Everest and a whole list of achievements once seen as 'unattainable'.

It should be Real. If you have considered goal-getting before, you are probably aware that we are in fact discussing what have come to be known as S.M.A.R.T. goals and expecting to see 'R' as being 'Realistic', but I am going to use a little artistic licence and change that to 'Relevant' or even 'Real'. This highlights what I feel is an important aspect of actually achieving goals, once set. Why 'Real'? Because no matter how specific you are, unless your goal is 'real' to you, something that you are passionate about, resolute, focused on and committed to, you will fail. You need to have a strong desire or zeal about that goal. If your goal is expressed as, "Wouldn't it be nice if ……..?", Or, "I would like to …….." "Maybe I could …..", - you can be pretty sure that it will never materialise. It will remain in the 'Dreams Box'!

It has to have a timeframe. It is also essential to set a deadline for the realisation of your goal. This is necessary in order for you to take progressive steps towards your goal, measure your progress, give yourself accountability and keep motivated. Your goals should always be referred to in the positive, in fact if visualization and affirmations are part of your goal-getting habit, you will be using the present tense rather than future, as if you were already experiencing your life having reached those goals - powerful stuff - but of course whether your Dreams turn into Goals depends on you, the secret to conversion is ACTION!

                                                  

1 Have Faith in Your Goals and Dreams

There is no point trying to pursue a goal if you don’t believe in it. In fact, if you don’t believe in what you want to achieve the passion to work for it will not be there. Even if it’s there for any reason, it will flicker and go off when the cold winds blow. Truth is that without believing in your aspirations and dreams, when you hit the rocks and the mountains you won’t have the mental strength to be able to climb. This is because your inner person never saw the reason to achieve those goals and so the challenges which were originally meant to make you stronger and better only serve rather to reinforce your unbelief. And then you’ll throw the dreams overboard.

But start believing in your aspirations today. Believe it’s actually possible to achieve them, because whatever your mind can conceive can be achieved. This is a universal law and does not fail. For more on the power of the mind please see Mind Power. Friend, believe today and you’ll be surprised to find out the possibilities you never knew existed.

#2 See into the Future

To remain in constant contact with your dreams and aspirations, truly, to remain fired up until you achieve them, it is necessary that you always see into the future with your mind’s eye. Always think about the beautiful life you’ll lead when (not if) you achieve your dreams and set goals. Think about how happy you are going to be. Think and talk to yourself about it to an extent where you are almost living it in the present. Do you want to be a doctor, for example? Think and dream about it like nothing else matters, in fact, whenever you can lay your hands on stethoscopes pull them around your neck; act like a doctor. Be interested whenever you hear a discussion about doctors or medicine and actually get into the discussion if you can. Just show passion for what you want to be in life. Even if they are short term goals please put your mind and heart into it. You want to build a very rich and comfortable home? In your mind believe it and see yourself pacing in and around the big house, and maybe telling the gardener what type of flowers you want. What am saying is see it and live it!

#3 See the Importance

Write out your goals, aspirations and dreams, and make a draft of the benefits you’re going to get when you achieve them. If pursuing and achieving A or B or C is going to give you fame, make you a man/woman of means, or just make you happy and fulfilled, then write it down, look at it every day and let it inspire you to work harder to achieve your goals. This might sound a tad simplistic but it’s very important and it works. It helps to keep your passion for success in that area red hot and burning.

#4 Rise up When You Fall

Success is sweet but when you fail, what? Stand up, dust your body, and continue running or climbing. Notice the word ‘continue’, I used it on purpose because a lot of people think failure means starting all over again. But this is not true because before you failed you learned a lot in your journey towards success. So, when you stand up you are not starting from ground zero, you now have experience which is valuable both to you and others coming behind and will help you avoid already known pitfalls. Perseverance That's the only way you can fall and stand up again. Always look at the big picture, keep your heart ablaze, run until you attain. Do not allow your heart to be dampened by temporary hitches but, set your heart and eyes like a flint and fly undistracted to your destination.

#5 Be Thankful Beforehand

Learn to be grateful to God before you see your dreams materialize. If you believe in God – which I think you should – then this is a great way of both keeping the fire of passion burning and achieving your dreams and goals. Being grateful to God means you’re hopeful, and being hopeful means you’re keeping your eyes of the prize – success! It is a very simple process: being thankful means you believe in your dreams, and if you believe in them the passion to achieve them will be there. This passion to succeed will fuel the fire that will push you to work hard and achieve your dreams.

Are there dreams and aspirations you had thrown into the trash can? Why not get back to that trash can now and pick them all up and lay them down on a table. Make a list of them and see which ones are viable and that you really will want to pursue. It could be a business plan, a relationship, a target, or whatever. Just make your list and follow the above steps, put your heart into it and see the amazing results you’ll get. It’s all in your hands now!

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