Don't quit your day dream.
About 3 1/2 years ago, I hosted a vision board brunch on a snowy, December Saturday morning for the female colleagues that I worked with. We spent that morning brunching, bonding, and creating vision boards that would manifest our respective goals and dreams.
From the stacks of magazines and craft supplies surrounding us, the images and quotes I carefully curated for my board were inspired by a dream that I had entertained for many years. Up to that point, I hadn't backed it up with any sort of plan or specific goals. Creating this board and then verbally explaining to the group what I had in mind was a simple, fun, and powerful first step (and a little scary too, realizing that I was putting it out there for others to react to, respond to and maybe even judge). But hearing from, encouraging, and motivating one another to invest in ourselves and our goals that morning was empowering for all of us, I believe.
My vision board soon had a variety of pictures, quotes, and aspirations of a dream that involved taking life on the road for at least a year – work, parenting, marriage, volunteer work, and our home itself (a life of travel and true digital nomadism).
Once finished with the final product, I placed the vision board on my desk at home, serving as an inspirational (and sometimes pesky) reminder of what I had started to put into motion. I also knew that the rhythm and routine of life threatened to get in the way of progress if I didn't chart out an action path, and soon. As can be expected, the fear of the negative "what ifs" crept in. What if we can't make this work with our professional goals and commitments? What if we mess up on the homeschooling front? What if we just really don't like it? It was time for some goal-setting and positive thinking.
Anyone who is familiar with SMART goal setting knows that creating a goal should have some element of time related to it (the T standing for time-sensitive, time-bound, etc). My "T" of this goal had a launch date of summer 2021. At that point, 3 1/2 years felt like it was a long way off. I knew that this length of time could become a barrier if I wasn't disciplined about the choices and decisions I needed to make during that time frame.
Armed with my SMART goals, I was making good progress: researching, planning, budgeting and even making a career change by launching my own coaching and education business, which was an element of making my dream a reality. And then came COVID. Like so many around the world, 2020 brought dreams, plans, and activities to a halt. It certainly threatened to hijack my dream, and as a result, I was forced to pivot and prepare differently. Even though this unexpected detour brought me and my family down a modified path, I was determined not to get derailed and kept moving forward in the direction of my dream.
The only place where your dream becomes impossible is in your own thinking.
-Robert Schuller
As I write this, I'm sitting at a picnic table in our campsite with the Blue Ridge Mountains all around me. The 12-year-old at my side is heads-down on his homework for the day, and my husband is inside the RV on a work call. I'm juggling a handful of coaching calls this week and honestly, still adjusting and trying to establish the right routine on the road even though we're two months in. This afternoon, we'll head to the trails or a museum (or maybe both) and figure out how to fit in a couple loads of laundry into our day. After all, we're not on vacation. We're not really even on a trip. I'm actually not sure what to call it (maybe a tour, and definitely an adventure) but what I do know is I can finally call my dream a reality.
While I envisioned this dream long before COVID hit, 2020 was a bold reminder that we have such limited, precious time to chase those goals. If there's been a dream in you that you've been putting off or if 2020 reignited a spark to do something different, what is the next right step you need to take? While the vision board exercise worked for me to put my dream into motion, find what works for you. Spend some time in a favorite place to plan. Be honest with yourself about the choices you need to make. Journal about it. Pray about it. Tell a family member or friend. Time-key your dream with a deadline. Or connect with me for some inspiration - I'd love to hear about it.
Once you truly commit ourselves to your dream, expect that you’ll continue to come up against the realities of life - that your time, energy, and resources will always be finite. You'll be pressed to make choices between work commitments, family time, education, entertainment, your health, and more. During these times when your dream can feel elusive (and it's completely normal when it does), don't quit. Your dream, whatever that may be, is too valuable.
P.S. As part of my recovery coaching and education business, I'm curious to see what recovery resources and programs exist in other communities throughout the country. Think of it as "recovery on the road," where I find out about the unique programs, resources, and people that are helping people find recovery from substance use and mental illness. If you're interested in this, I'll be documenting that part of my journey on instagram. If you want to follow along with us on our #RVlife, you can find us here and here.
