Dream Bigger

I want to be a policeman when I grow up.
I want to be an astronaut!
I want to be a doctor, or an artist, or a race car driver.

When we were young, we were not inhibited by what we can or can’t be. We told the world, and we were proud of it.

We could be ANYTHING we wanted to be.

As we grow older, that changes sometimes.

photo by clappstar (Creative Commons)

Why Do we Limit our Dreams?

Maybe someone we loved told us we couldn’t do it. Or we weren’t talented enough. Or that we are just dreaming. It was time to be more realistic.

While I understand that sometimes this is their way of protecting us, it can also be a way of putting us down. Their way of saying “I never got to live my dream, so I don’t want you to be able to live yours.”

Most of the time, however, I think we haven’t been shown good examples of what chasing our dreams looks like. We haven’t seen many people take big risks and succeed.

We’ve seen them take a risk and fail. That is what gets publicized. And it scares us. We think the worst case scenario will happen to us. And while the failures do happen, many times we just don’t hear about the successes.

In your life, you typically have multiple people who have followed a dream and succeeded. They started a business. They trained for a marathon – and completed it. They traveled to a unique place in the world. They started practicing their art.

How do you find out about this?

By asking them about their dream. By listening to their stories. By believing in them.

Are You Dreaming Big Enough?

Not only are many of us not dreaming, but for those of us who are, we aren’t dreaming big enough. We limit our dream. We say, “Okay, I’m going to start dreaming again. But if I do, I’ll make it a realistic dream because I don’t want to be disappointed.”

This can often be another form of self-sabotage. If we’re going to dream, then why not DREAM BIG?

I’m talking big dreams. The kind that scare you. They put a knot in your stomach and make you wonder how in the world you will ever do it.

I have met some amazing people lately who are doing this. They are challenging me to dream bigger. They are living life in full force and loving it.

How are they doing it?

They are believing in their dream.

They are doing something about it. They’re taking action.

They are living life fully engaged.

They are continuing to dream bigger.

They are trusting that God will open doors and guide them.

I believe God has uniquely designed us with a purpose. Many of us are still trying to figure out that purpose and learn to live and exist in it. That’s okay. Just take a step. Do something. Continue dreaming and praying and believing.

Are you up for it?

What’s your dream? How can I encourage you?

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