You Don't Have to Close Your Eyes When You Dream

© JenkoAtaman

"Nothing haunts us more than the dreams we didn't act upon!"
Ed Sykes

It's Throwback Thursday, but just before I started looking through old photographs this morning, Suzette Allen left me a comment on a post I wrote three years ago about dreams. As I read the original post, it was so relevant to today. I decided to share a different kind of throwback. Some of you will like it, others will roll your eyes and find it trite, but it's perfect for this time of year.

I'm heading to ShutterFest in a little over a week, and I'm going to be surrounded by a lot of young photographers with dreams. Plus, even more seasoned pros have dreams of what they hope the rest of this year is going to be like. With Spring seasonality comes everyone's mind's eye visions of how the year is going to play out; new ideas for business; new products to inspire clients, and the list goes on and on.

Even though I'm officially an old fart, I still think about what I want to do with my life. Many of you are focused and for years have known what you wanted to be when you grew up. Well, I'm one of those still struggling, but it's also what keeps me smiling.

Whether you'd call them my dreams or aspirations, doesn't make any difference. I wake up every day knowing the things I need to do, including finding time to dream a little. I look at my dreams and goals like one big file drawer loaded with ideas, but there's something that happens as you get older.

You realize you don't have the luxury of endless time to procrastinate - something you never really had in the first place.  Some ideas you jump quicker than others.  Then there are those dreams that are very personal versus simple projects you want to do. 

By this time, you should notice that I use words like dreams, goals, aspirations and even ideas all the same way. They all represent things I want and intend to do, and here six suggestions to help you keep your dreams alive:

• Take a few minutes and write down your top dreams/aspirations. Do it like a bucket list in no particular order.
• Identify those that are "low-hanging fruit," ones that are easier realized than others. 
• Balance things out, so you're not always chasing the fruit that's hardest to reach. Take a small aspiration and tackle it at the same time you're working on a more long-range one.
• Only share your dreams with those people you trust the most, but it's important to share your dreams. Without letting your aspirations out, they'll suffocate and die.
• The hardest of all - surround yourself with positive people and cut the "Negators" in your life out of the picture. Nobody belongs in your life if they spend time crushing your dreams.

Last on the list - when you're chasing a dream, and it's not working out, just change course. You don't have to let go of the dream, only the path you've chosen to get there. Remember, dreams don't have expiration dates!

​Most important of all, DON'T SHOULD ON YOURSELF. It's a lesson I learned from Sheila because at the beginning of our relationship I was "shoulding" all over the place. You know the drill - you do something, it doesn't work out and instead of putting energy into a new direction you whine, shrug your shoulders and say, "You know what I should have done?"

"I'll do my dreaming with my eyes wide open, and I'll do my looking back with my eyes closed."
Tony Arata

Happy Throwback Thursday everybody!