I heard that line… “dream beyond the common order of things” in an advertisement for tea, of all places. Yet the words jumped out at me like a vivid memory.
I know that I have had many times in my life when I have created things bigger than I thought I knew how to achieve, and personally produced results that even left me in a state of bewilderment about what was possible for my life.
Have you ever experienced those moments? They are well worth revisiting and building on. They are your key to producing such results again, if you still have some more big dreams to accomplish. If you have achieved something in your past, it means that you can achieve it (or something similar), again in the future. You now have the tools you need, and cellular memory of what it takes to create anything outside of yourself.
This article lists a few of the thoughts that came up for me as I recalled a few monumental achievements in my own life, and I write them here with the intention of making a difference to the life of somebody else who may read these words.
These pointers, about living out your dreams, are not in any particular priority order. They are simply a collection of random thoughts that I know to be true, about accomplishing large goals.
If you have a massive goal and you are continually procrastinating, perhaps this is indicative of a misalignment somewhere in your life. Is there something that is not in integrity with who you believe yourself to be, or is there something for which you haven’t forgiven yourself. Those are the areas that must first be cleared up, to enable forward movement.
At some stage, when you notice that the goal you have created is not for you, then at very least do it for others. Create a purpose outside of yourself, if your own is not yet strong enough. You will build the muscles you need as you step forward. Collect all the crutches you can until you have generated some personal momentum. Soon the goal will again be yours and will no longer feel foreign to you.
Always be able to instantly get in touch with wonderfully powerful feelings about your dream goals. Share on XBuild in structures and systems that keep the dream alive over extended periods of time. Add props like quotes, images and posters in your daily surrounds. Have pop up messages on your computer, use the screensaver area on your screens, and add material to inspire you. Include supportive friends who know about your intentions, so they will ask you about it each time you speak. Ask for lots and lots of help with all the things about which you do not yet have enough knowledge. Hear the voices of experience around you.
Dreams need wheels, foundations and time lines. Begin incorporating daily actions and habits to move you forward. Set up files, folders, calendars and other structures for being able to immediately collect material and information that you need for your projects. Set short and long-term timelines for specific phases, and for specific completion points. Then live your days toward those dates of completion, and targets that are easily measured.
Have big reasons for wanting to achieve the results you declare. Make these reasons large enough and truly heartfelt, so that they ignite passion and strong emotion behind your dreams.
You need to always be able to instantly get in touch with wonderfully powerful feelings about your dream goals. Those emotions will inspire consistent action and will inspire others around you. You will need those inspired friends on the days you feel a bit too flat for taking action.
Reach for those stars, there is no mud up there. Keep your eyes focused on the end prize, in fact, a little way beyond where you say you want to be by a particular time. If you shoot a bit beyond the desired end result, then you are sure to arrive at your intended destination.
Decisions must be made. A real decision is measured by the fact that you have taken a new action. If there is no action, then you really have not decided so it’s best to check in with yourself. Have you honestly made a decision regarding your dream? If not, then make one. Either completely drop the goal or get on ahead full-steam with it.
When you reach for the stars, you may not quite get them, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either. -Leo Burnett Share on XNever use time as your excuse. Wedge dream projects into your current lifestyle, and commitments. Even if you crawl forward at ten minutes each day, do something every day toward that end goal. When you go to sleep each day, rest yourself in the knowledge that you have done something that day, to move you closer to your dream. At some time during every day, put one foot in front of the other toward that dream. Slow is better than never.
Build on positive results and create some wins for yourself. Each time you win a little victory over yourself, you create impetus for moving forward even more. It helps you to grow, and become the person you must become for having that dream live for you. There will be changes, this is inevitable when working toward a big dream and when growing into the person who is to fit such a large dream. Allow, accept and actively encourage that level of personal growth.
Each time you win a little victory over yourself, you create impetus for moving forward even more. Share on XAll the points listed above are by no means a comprehensive collection, or a complete formula for success. They are purely a few things to consider and check in with, if you are up to some big things in your life. Throughout them all is the common thread of managing yourself. Watch the language you use, and how you speak with yourself. Live with awareness and recognize the many faces of fear. Continue to build harmony in your every day living.
Never lose touch with the miracle and dream life that you already live. Inhale gratitude with every breath. You have today as a gift, now go spend it!
How Do You Turn Big Dreams Into Reality?
Eight questions to help you reflect on how you approach your bigger hopes and goals. Dreaming beyond the familiar can open up exciting possibilities. The challenge is turning those possibilities into something you can work towards in everyday life. Choose the response that most closely reflects what you would actually do.
The Possibility Seeker
You are drawn to what might be possible beyond the familiar. You enjoy imagining a future that differs from your current circumstances, and that wider perspective can help you recognise opportunities you might otherwise overlook.
Your next step is to give your ideas a practical foothold. Choose one possibility that genuinely matters to you and identify a small way to begin exploring it. A big dream does not need to be fully mapped out before you take the first step.
If you would like more ideas for turning inspiration into progress, take a look at the free 16 Lessons For Success In Life eBook, with contributions from 16 authors and teachers.
When you are ready for another opportunity to reflect on yourself, try a different quiz on the Personal Growth Quizzes page.
The Purpose-Driven Dreamer
You are most energised when you know why a goal matters. A meaningful purpose can help you stay connected to your dream when progress becomes difficult or the initial excitement fades.
Your next step is to put that purpose into words. Write down what achieving the goal would mean to you or how it could make a positive difference beyond yourself. Return to those reasons when you need encouragement, while allowing yourself to revise a goal if it no longer fits.
For fresh perspectives on goals, happiness and personal success, you may enjoy the free 16 Lessons For Success In Life eBook.
You can keep building your self-understanding by choosing another reflection tool from the Personal Growth Quizzes collection.
The Practical Planner
You tend to turn an ambitious idea into something more manageable by thinking about the steps, resources and support it will require. This practical approach can make a large goal feel less overwhelming.
Your next step is to keep your plans useful rather than letting planning become a substitute for action. Identify the next milestone, decide when you will work on it and begin with the information and resources already available to you. You can adjust the plan as you learn.
If you enjoy practical ideas for personal development and achieving meaningful goals, explore the free 16 Lessons For Success In Life eBook.
For another perspective on your habits, choices and goals, visit the Personal Growth Quizzes page and choose a quiz that interests you.
The Steady Step-Taker
You recognise that a dream becomes more achievable when you keep moving towards it. Rather than waiting for ideal conditions, you are inclined to make progress through small, repeated actions. Those modest efforts can build experience, confidence and momentum over time.
Your next step is to protect a little time for your goal, even on an ordinary or busy day. Choose an action small enough to complete and give yourself credit for following through. Consistency matters more than making every day spectacular.
For more ideas and perspectives on creating a successful, fulfilling life, have a look at the free 16 Lessons For Success In Life eBook.
When you feel like another little challenge, the Personal Growth Quizzes page offers more ways to reflect on how you live and move forward.
Explore This Idea Further
Optional prompts to help you make the ideas your own.
I use AI as a thinking companion, not as a replacement for my own thinking. These prompts are simply another way to explore the ideas in this article and see how they might apply to your own life.
You don’t have to use AI to benefit from them. You can copy a prompt into a notebook, write about it in your journal, talk it through with someone you trust or simply sit with the question and see what comes up for you. If you do use ChatGPT or another AI tool, treat its responses as a starting point for your own thinking.
You remain the person who decides what is useful and right for your life.
How to use these prompts: Choose the one that appeals to you, copy the complete prompt and paste it into ChatGPT or another AI tool. You can answer its questions and continue the conversation as you go.
1. Apply This To My Life
Use this prompt when you want to connect the article’s ideas about thinking beyond the usual way of doing things with your own circumstances and possibilities.
I want to think beyond the usual way of doing things and consider what might be possible in my own life. Use the Forward Steps article “Dream Beyond Common Order Of Things” as your primary source and help me connect its message with my personal circumstances.
Ask me a few relevant questions about an area of my life where I would like to see new possibilities, whether that involves my choices, relationships, work or the way I approach a situation. Help me examine whether familiar ways of thinking are limiting what I consider possible and what the article’s message might mean for me.
Then offer thoughtful, practical guidance based on the article and my answers. Help me consider a fresh perspective without losing sight of my real circumstances. Build on my responses as we continue rather than giving me one large answer and stopping.
2. Reflect More Deeply
Use this prompt when you want to reflect on what your past achievements, present thinking and future dreams might reveal about what is possible for you.
What if some of your past achievements hold clues to dreams you could pursue today? Use the Forward Steps article “Dream Beyond Common Order Of Things” as your primary source and help me reflect on what my own experiences have taught me about what is possible.
Guide me through a thoughtful conversation about something I have achieved that once seemed beyond my reach, what helped me accomplish it and what that experience might reveal about my abilities and potential. Help me consider whether a current dream genuinely matters to me, whether I may be holding myself back through familiar thinking and whether procrastination could be pointing to something I need to reconsider.
Ask me useful questions one or two at a time, responding to my answers with care and curiosity. Help me explore the article’s message about meaningful purpose, persistence, personal growth and looking beyond what seems ordinary or immediately achievable. Keep the reflection grounded in the article, without assuming that every dream must be pursued or that every obstacle has the same cause.
3. Turn It Into Action
Use this prompt when you want to turn a meaningful dream into realistic forward steps instead of leaving it as something you hope to achieve one day.
I have a dream that matters to me, and I want to move beyond simply wishing for it. Use the Forward Steps article “Dream Beyond Common Order Of Things” as your primary source and help me turn one meaningful dream into realistic forward steps.
First, ask me a few relevant questions about the dream, why I want to achieve it and what has been making progress difficult. Help me consider whether I need to clarify my purpose, ask for help, seek advice from people with experience or put better structures in place to keep the dream alive.
Then help me create a simple plan with one practical action I can take now, a manageable way to keep making progress within my existing commitments and a realistic milestone to work towards. Draw on the article’s emphasis on daily action, supportive people, useful systems and building on small victories. If the dream no longer feels right for me, help me think honestly about whether to revise it or let it go.
Keep the plan focused and achievable rather than overwhelming me with a long list of tasks. Encourage steady progress rather than perfection, build on my answers as we continue and help me finish with one clear next step.
Tip: You don’t have to use all three. Start with the one that feels most useful to you right now.
Hi, I'm Thea Westra at Forward Steps (forwardstepsblog.com)
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