Hold Fast to Your Dream

Part of becoming a new self, of breaking our addiction to our old self, is to think above and beyond your present reality, becoming so infused with your vision that you start to believe it's already real, and you act accordingly.

This is the power of dreaming and imaging. Though we often dismiss it as impractical and intangible, this is exactly how all change begins: as a vision that an individual holds steadfastly in their mind. Before we can take significant action to an end, we must have an inspiring, compelling vision.

Here's the kicker: our dream often completely contradicts present reality. Martin Luther King's dream for racial justice was in direct opposition to the social situation in the America of the time. Thomas Edison worked tirelessly to make new groundbreaking inventions a reality, in a world that was technologically poor when compared to the modern epoch.

Anybody who is a changemaker faces this fundamental contradiction: their ideas are compelling and inspiring, but are entirely contradicted by present reality. Yet they continue to fight feverishly for its realisation, until eventually they break through. This is the essence of changemaking.

When we're engaged in personal change, we must do the same. Whether we want better health, finances, career, spirituality or friendship, we must be able to think beyond our current circumstances, imagine a future that doesn't exist and that may even contradict our present reality, and hold fast to that vision over the months and years.

Our life is always beyond our imagination in any case. If you look at your life, particularly the areas in which you feel actualised and fulfilled, you'll notice that at one point in the past your present circumstances were beyond your imagination. They existed merely as an idea or dream, and you could scarcely believe they would ever become real.

Yet despite your reservations, you carried on, slowly crafting that vision into reality, until reaching the present, where these vague visions are now visible, concrete, daily, habitual phenomena. This was not a fluke, but an inevitable result of holding fast to your vision.

As you embark on future personal growth, remember to hold fast to your dream. Your vision will seem vague, abstract, unattainable, even foolish. But you must trust in your passion and desire, and continue acting in alignment with them. You'll start behaving as though the vision were already real. And eventually you'll make it real: this once-vague desire will become your living, breathing, waking reality.

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