Words of Encouragement

Everyone has dreams. Some of them you realize are unrealistic. Those are fun. They add flavor to your life, and you know they are just dreams. Sometimes, though, a little encouragement is needed for the dreams that are achievable. Perhaps you want to be a writer, but you are listening to the voices in your head saying that you don’t have talent or skills. They present obstacles to your growth. So you never take the first step. You might also think it is hopeless.

There are some things, however, that you can do to make your dreams a reality. It involves re-thinking some of the messages you hear and deciding if they hold merit for you. You also have to know where to go to find the encouragement for your particular situation.

First of all, get rid of the idea that you are limited by life. Instead, think of life in general. Life has this huge bucket of good stuff that it dumps out on a daily basis. Sometimes we get hit with the good stuff. Life also has a huge bucket of bad stuff that it dumps out on a daily basis. Sometimes we get hit with the bad stuff. It is what you do with what you get that makes all the difference in your outcome. You can make good choices and still get hit with either good or bad stuff. You learn to tell the difference and keep moving forward.

Sometimes what is good or bad to us may be bad or good to someone else. For instance, a low paying job may seem like a bad thing to us. But to someone else who is out of work, any job would seem good. It is all in your perspective. Receiving encouragement helps to banish any negative thoughts. Negative thinking results in negative outcomes simply because you don’t recognize the inherent good in everything.

We are all a mixture of thoughts, emotions, perceptions, experiences, ideas, and … It is this mix that makes us what we are. It doesn’t mean that your viewpoint is bad. It just means that with a little tweaking and encouragement, it could be a little better. Whatever you feel is going on right now that is bad in your life could be improved with a little work. You don’t have to settle for the middle ground. Go for the high ground.

You should know by now you can never go backwards in life. Dwelling on the past limits your future. Life is like a track meet. Some days are a sprint. Some days are long distance. But most days are obstacle courses. If you don’t jump each obstacle and move on, you get nowhere and miss the chance for a trophy. Knowing where to find encouragement helps overcome the obstacles and keep moving.

Doubts are a useless waste of energy

Obstacles in life can be exhausting and lead you to doubt your decisions. And sometimes, it’s good to be realistic and to analyze whether a dream is achievable or not. But the difference between being realistic and doubting is that the doubts cause you to stall. Being realistic causes you to evaluate and to choose another way that is beneficial.

If you are placing limits on yourself because of fears and doubts, and not some insurmountable obstacle, then you need to banish those fears and doubts.

Doubts are dangerous because they may seem harmless at first. They have a way of slipping into your subconscious as an innocent thought. The doubt then lingers at the back of your head, without you being aware of it, ready to cut you down at the first opportunity of weakness.

That’s when you can recognize that the doubt is more powerful than you realize. That doubt in the back of your head will surface and overshadow any dreams you might want to pursue by listing multiple reasons why you can’t achieve the dreams.

When you think about yourself, your self-image will not be of that person you want to be, but the person that others want you to be.

Doubts will keep you in a job you hate, just because you’re afraid to go do what you really want to do. Doubts will keep you with a person who abuses you, because you don’t think you deserve better.

How to Banish Doubts in Three Steps

As doubts are so dangerous, how do you beat them? It’s three simple steps, but each one is a bit more difficult than they sound:

• Become aware. Doubt gets its power mostly because it is in our subconscious, and we’re not aware of the effects it has on us. Instead, we have to bring it to the forefront of our minds. And that means concentrating on our thoughts, and trying to search out those doubts and negative thoughts as they come up. The ones that say, “Maybe I can’t do this. Maybe it’s not realistic.” If you make a conscious effort to be aware of these doubts, you can catch them and beat them.

• Squash the doubt. Once you’ve become aware of the doubt, imagine that the doubt is an ugly little bug. Now step on it, and squash it with the bottom of your shoe. Not literally, of course, but in your mind. Exterminate it. Do not let it live and spread!
• Replace it with something positive. Now that you’ve squashed the doubt, replace it with positive thoughts. It sounds corny, but trust me, this works: think to yourself, “I can do this! Others have done it, and so can I! Nothing will stop me.” Or something along those lines, appropriate to whatever it is you’re doing.

You have to continue to be vigilant, and be aware of your doubts before they stop you cold in your tracks. This is a constant process as you pursue your dreams, not a one-time thing. Doubts, like insects, will continue to come back, even after you’ve killed the first wave or two. You can’t let them thrive and overcome you.

What to Do About Your Doubts

Once you have identified the doubts residing in your head, you can take steps to get rid of them. They tell you to stop dreaming, to be realistic, and to take a more traditional path. They seek to tell you not to do something because you lack talent or skills or opportunities.

You can learn to block them out or just ignore them. There are many books and articles to help you do just that. If, however, you have a stubborn streak in you, the doubts will fuel your determination — make it your desire to discount the doubts.

If you choose to block the doubts, when they say something negative, or something that is likely to cause be negative, take that thought (in your head) and squash it. Ignoring them is much the same. Then replace the old message with something positive.

If a person is constantly bringing you down and making you feel like you have no value, you might consider removing that person from your life. This sounds drastic, and it can be, but the truth is that having a life full of negative people will drag you down to their level, and stop you from doing what you want to do. I’m not saying you should get a divorce or never see your mother again (if they’re the naysayers), but I am saying that you should pick your friends carefully.

Instead, surround yourself with positive, encouraging people. If you have friends like that, you can do anything.

How to forge ahead

So you’ve blocked out the negative thoughts, you’ve learned to become aware of your doubts and to squash them … and you’re ready to pursue your dreams.

But you’re afraid to take the plunge. That’s just another doubt.
It can be very helpful to do a lot of research and to carefully plan your plunge. But once you’ve done that research and planning, you still have to take action.

You have to just do it — just dive in! You’ve already done all the thinking you need to do. Just dive in.

That’s how it is with your dreams. You can’t wait for the right moment to come along, or for someone to give you a push, or for conditions to be right. Just dive right in!

Once you’re in, you’re committed, and you have to go for it. You don’t want to turn back once you’ve taken the plunge. Now you’re more likely to achieve your dreams.

So plan it out, do your research … but when you’re ready, just dive right in. And don’t look back.

How to Stay Motivated

How do you keep your motivation levels high in the face of adversity and obstacles that are sure to come up? Motivation goes up and down, and comes in waves. It’s impossible to keep it high all the time.
Here are a few suggestions:

• Keep the end in mind. Have a clear picture in your head of exactly how you want your dream to turn out in the end. Know where you’ll be, what it’ll look like, how it will feel. Know exactly what needs to happen for your dream to be a success — how will you know you’ve arrived? Keep this clear picture in your head as much as possible.

• Stay focused. Don’t get distracted by other goals or pursuits. If you are tempted to pursue other dreams, do so only with the awareness that you are abandoning your current dream, at least for now. If you don’t want to do that, then fight off the temptation of those other pursuits. For now, just stick with this one goal.
• Get inspired. Who else is achieving this dream, or other dreams? Read about them, talk to them, email them. Go to websites that inspire you. Read books that inspire you. Inspiration is one of the keys to achieving any dream.
• Celebrate any success. Anything, however small, that you achieve is a cause for joyous celebration. Really. If you’re writing a novel, and you’ve created a great character sketch, celebrate! If you’ve written your first few paragraphs, celebrate! Your dream will be achieved in baby steps, not in leaps and bounds. Every step is a cause for celebration … with enough steps, you’ll get there.