When you approach your present state through the lens of your future dream, taking action isn’t scary, it is simply the next logical step.
I recently had a client who is just getting started building her dream business. She has all the tools she needs for success, she is developing a following and she knows exactly how she wants the business to grow and progress. The problem? She still has a successful, prestigious full-time job that pays the bills. She is straddling both worlds and desperately trying to keep her “side gig” a secret. She is constantly worried that her current employer will discover her secret and she will get into trouble or get fired. So she keeps playing small. Keeping her side business under wraps and limiting its growth. She is not taking the actions she knows she would need to take to move things to the next level. She is consciously sabotaging herself.
When I work with clients in the space, I take a journey with them into their dream. When we project ourselves into our future self, into the person living the dream, we gain clarity for our present self. When you imagine yourself living your future best life, you can unwind that success and evaluate the steps that you would need to take at each point along the way. You can slip into the thoughts that created the confidence that moved you to that place of success.
That exercise allowed my client to see that her path to success would require her to be bold. To be afraid of the consequences but to take the actions anyway. Her future self would tell her to stop playing small. Her future self would tell her that she built her success by taking action toward her dream despite the risks and despite the fear.
We must approach every day as a page in our success story. When you look at you dream and your path to achieving that dream, where does today fit? Where does next week or next month fit? What steps were you taking at this stage of the journey?
We all have fears that are keeping us stuck—that convince us that we should play small. Consider the impact those choices are having on your ultimate dream?
Is your dream worth being afraid but experiencing the fear and doing it away?
Achieving our dreams is not easy. It is not without fear and personal risk. That is why so many of us relegate our lives to playing it small. If you could have a chat with your future dream self, what advice would you give yourself today? I suspect that advice would be simple:
Be. Brave.
Take the next steps in your adventure. Let me coach you toward your dream.
