Is Following Your Dreams Actually Possible?

**Collaborative post**

Ever since we were kids, many of us have been told one thing over and over: follow your dreams. We were told we could be anything we wanted as long as really put our heart and soul into it. From parents to teachers, to movies and TV. Every voice around us seemed to be saying the same thing. But were they right? Is it actually possible to follow your dreams? What does that even mean? And if you do manage to follow your dreams, will it be everything you hoped for? The older you get, the more you realize just how complicated life can be. Is there room in the crazy world of adult life for something that seems so simple? For every TV success story, there are plenty of people who never seemed to be able to reach their goals. What sets those people apart? Hard work? Or is it just dumb luck? Both? Well, here are some things that you’ll want to think about and remember if you decide to set everything aside and follow your dreams. Plus some helpful tips that might make doing that just a little easier.

Figure out what you want

No, I mean what you really want. More than anything else in the world. Not what you enjoy. Not what you’d be pretty happy doing. What do you love? What are you more passionate about than anything else? What could you see yourself doing every single day for the rest of your life? Sounds a bit heavy right? Well if you want to follow a single path then you’ve got to be sure that it’s something you really want. The reality is that if you want to find a path in life that’s right for you, you have to know yourself. THat can often be a lot harder than you might think but there are plenty of ways to learn to know and understand yourself. From things like meditation to researching your horoscope signs to things like therapy and counselling, getting to know yourself is something that can have an extremely positive impact on your entire life. If you are a Capricorn, for instance, you might search the positive traits of Capricorn to understand your strengths are from the astrological side, to build a better career path for you. This applies to all other zodiac signs as well. You don’t want to go into a career that you think is right for you, only to find out that it’s not what you thought. That’s a seriously easy way to find yourself stuck in a job you hate, resenting your past decisions.

Do your research

After you’ve figured out what it is you really want out of life, the next step is finding out if you’re actually able to achieve it. The right skills are imperative to opening those all-important doors for you. If you’ve just come out of university, there are plenty of services out there that are excellent ways to find out where your skills can take you. If the thing that you really want sits outside of your skillset then perhaps consider trying to develop those skills yourself. Night classes and online courses are a great way to develop skills and can make a lot of difference. If your passion is pulling you towards a particular job or industry, find out exactly what employers in that area look for. If you want a job, then the best thing that you can do is to turn yourself into the perfect candidate. And you can only do that if you know what the ideal candidate actually looks like.

Get ready to focus

Now, when I say focus, I don’t just mean avoiding distractions and procrastination, though that is important. You’ve got to be ready to put away all the other alternatives. If you want to follow your dreams and actually see it through, you’ve got to be utterly single-minded. This is where a lot of people actually find that following their dream isn’t really worth it. Most people don’t want to be just one thing. We want to try lots of different things, dip our fingers in lots of pies. And that’s fine; there’s nothing wrong with that. But if you’ve decided you want to follow a single path above all others, then you can’t do that. You’ve got to be able to say no to those other ideas that pop into your head. Let’s say for example that you want to be a writer. You want to write a novel, and that is your dream. That’s great but to do that you’re going to need to let go of those dreams of being a famous musician or a Michelin star chef. If you want to follow through on your goals, then you’ve got to be willing to put aside any distractions. Think about it like pushing a boulder up a hill. The part of you that wants to write a novel is pushing at full strength, but other parts of you keep wandering off to look at something else. If you want to reach the top, then every part of you has to be pushing all together in the same direction.

Put in the time 

It’s not enough to have a dream, or the qualifications and skills. It’s not sufficient to be single-minded about it. You’ve got to be willing to commit your time and effort to what you want. This means that there’s a chance you’ll be working a lot of extra hours when you might want just to relax. Going back to the example we used before. If you’re writing your novel but you’re also working full time, having the energy to write when you get home is going to a lot of effort. Well too bad! This applies to whatever you want to do. If you’re not willing to put in that extra work to achieve what you really want then, you might as well give up. No one ever said following your dreams was easy. Put that work into what you’re passionate about even when you might not feel like it. If it’s what you really care about then, it’ll be worth it in the end.

Now, I don’t want anyone to think that this is trying to discourage them from following their dream. Far from it. We need people in the world who are willing to go the distance for what they’re passionate about. But if you go into expecting it to be easy then you’re going to be sorely disappointed. If you remember that it’s going to be hard work and require a lot of focus. Then you’re that much better equipped to stand up to any challenges that might stand in your way.