Five Things To Remember When You're Pursuing Your Dreams

I believe in dreaming big, raising the bar, and pursuing a life you love, though taking the road less travelled and forging your own path is never for the faint of heart. I spoke a little more in depth about my own journey Taking The Road Less Travelled a few months back, and today I wanted to share five things I like to remember when it comes to pursuing my dreams and building a life I love:

Good things take time Overnight success isn't something I'm after; I want to work hard, learn as I go, and build a life and a career for myself that is both creatively and personally fulfilling. Good things take time, we have to buckle in for the long haul and graft away at those dreams of ours - they take perseverance, hard work, and a little bit of risk as well. If it feels like you're not getting anywhere, sometimes it's because we can't see all the small steps we're taking without being at a distance from them. The awesome Anastasia shared an awesome piece over on ALO a few months back about 5 Signs That You're On The Right Path that is a must read if you're feeling a little lost and uncertain.

Be a farmer, not a hunter This is one of the Five Mantras I Live By and it's all thanks to stumbling across this awesome post from Braid Creative. When you're chasing your goals and pursuing your dreams, seeing the bigger picture and building your foundations instead of taking the easier road, in my opinion, is the best path to take. I like to think that I'm currently sowing the seeds of my creative business; I'm working hard to be better at my craft every day, while learning new skills and opening myself up to new ways of thinking, and moving forward every day towards my short and long term goals. Braids post is specifically about money, though I think you can take the concept into all areas of your life and personally I think it's a must read!

Give it 100% When you're chasing those dreams of yours, whatever you do, make sure you give it 100%. There's no point only doing things half way; if you really want to make things happen for yourself you have to give it everything and hold steady even when things get tough. I've spoke before about doing a job well, and when we take the leap into pursuing our dreams we have to dig deep and give it all of our energy and focus.

Believe in yourself I've spoke quite a lot in the past about not holding ourselves back and moving past fear and believing in ourselves. When you're chasing those goals and pursuing your dreams, you have to believe in yourself and your choices every step of the way. Self doubt is unavoidable at times, but we can't allow it to paralyse us and stop us in our tracks. Learning to believe in yourself and banish self doubt is hard, and in my experience it takes time and I'm still working on it some days, though the only person who can make a difference is you. And if you're really struggling, I shared some things I like to remember when I'm feeling insecure a few weeks back.

See solutions, not problems This is a big thing I try and take with me in my work; whenever I come across a problem, instead of obsessing about the setback, I pour all of my energy into finding a solution instead. I spoke about this in more depth in my Managing Setbacks and How To Bounce Back post back in October, and one of the biggest things I'm learning is that setbacks and challenges are there to push us, test our grit, and make us really fight for what we want in life.

And if you're a dreaming big creative like me, five awesome blogs you should check out are Nourish, The Freelance to Freedom Project, By Regina, Braid Creative, and Create as Folk.

If you're dreaming big, I'd love to know what you're working towards at the moment and what you're learning along the way so far?

Background image via June Letters