Do It Now – Keep the Dream Alive

On the 50th Anniversary of Dr. Kings speech and the March on Washington D.C., we must remind each other to Keep the Dream Alive! There is something about setting and pursuing specific goals that causes a lot of people to procrastinate and simply avoid doing. Our dreams are connected with our goals. Do we fear success? Do we not create enough time in our day to get the most important things done? Time management has been one of the greatest challenges for professionals for ages wherein some people learn to conquer it by developing a philosophy and mantra called “Do It Now!”  The major problem stems from not learning time management principles early on and not using self-discipline. By now we should all realize that we must plan what we want in our lives. Planning and Implementing are key ingredients to understanding how we experience success and purposefully live our lives.

Here are six powerful suggestions to keep you moving in the right direction:

Put your dreams, goals and expectations in writing – not just in the far corners of your mind. If you cannot define with clarity what you want, then how will you know when you get it? A challenge for you might be to set goals for your life for the next 90 days. Set goals for one area or multiple areas of your life. When you look at the totality of your life consider goals and expectations for your career, relationships (family and social), spiritual life, finances, health and wellness, personal growth, business, recreation and community engagement. Jot down at least two to three goals for each life area that you can accomplishment in 90 days. Use a planner or calendar to help you chart your success.

Dream big dreams and be excited about your goals. Know that once you commit them to writing, you consciously plan to pursue them. You are putting your conscious mind on notice that you are going to work towards reaching your goals – starting today. Prioritize what you would like to accomplish first, second, third, etc. Know that you can make great things happen in your life. Live and extraordinary life!

Consider the best use of your time – then passionately pursue the things that give you the best outcome for your energy and time invested. Consider the worst use of your time – let those things go because it is holding you back from living your potential! Some of the things that may hold us back our attitudes, other people, life circumstances, and whatever you have allowed to fill in the blank. Understand your values and what motivates you to complete what makes you happy. Consider why you want to do what you do. Allow the best in you to come forward to start living your best life.

Learn how to become enthusiastic about the process of dreaming, becoming, doing, creating and acting. When your enthusiasm is high your productivity will be high.  You can get more done, because you really want to do more. Cultivate your enthusiasm daily with affirmations and inspirational thoughts, music and readings. Feed your brain with powerful energy through these resources – every day take 30 minutes to intentionally grow your life before you begin your day. If you have an accountability partner, share your dreams and goals with him or her.

Failures happen and life still moves forward. Just so you know, some of the things you may try to reach your goals may result in minor or major failure. Keep it moving forward! In these instances embrace the understanding that failure is your friend and is essential to your future successes.  At least you will find out what does not work and you will continue to build momentum in reaching your goals in another way. You will soon recognize that you learn more by doing than just by thinking about doing it. What you do not do will ultimately haunt you because you will keep holding on to what you could have done in your mind by mentally revisiting those thoughts when you least expect it. This is such a real waste of your valuable time. Keep moving forward as if today and tomorrow matters more than you know.

Celebrate each victory!  Imagine what it will look like when you have everything you dream and desire as a result of reaching your goals. Thinking and planning are important, but action is far more important. Keep dreaming and believing in your dreams. You will reap the benefits of your actions with your results gained from taking action and getting things done. Go for what inspires you. Know, with clarity and assuredness – what you want to achieve in your life. Make life work for you. Enjoy the journey and do it now!  Just do it - and Live the Dream.  ~ Dr. Sandra Sessoms-Penny ~