In 2011, I went on my dream vacation. And I don’t mean just any vacation, I mean a DREAM vacation. I flew to Barcelona, then went to Florence, Naples and Rome. My last stop was the Spanish Island of Mallorca. I had always dreamed of going to Italy, but held it for so long as a “someday.” You know what I mean, “Someday, I’ll do it.”
I had stuffed my dream in the back of my desire closet, until one day I noticed it just sitting there and I pulled it out (like a long lost beautiful dress I had been saving to wear to something special), and as I looked at it, I heard the “Someday Voice” full of rationalized excuses play the same chorus in my head. But before I could stuff it back into the corner shoebox, I reminded myself that I am a Certified Dream Coach, and in that moment I knew that I could sit around and wait for the perfect time to wear that special dress OR I could create my own opportunity to wear it. It’s really my choice. And then I asked myself this important question: “What was I really waiting for?” This brought me to start packing that dress into my suitcase as I headed off to Italy.
Here are 5 tips to turn your Someday Dream into reality now:
1. Reality check. Get the facts! The truth was, how could I say I couldn’t afford it if I didn’t even know how much it cost? No plan or strategy can even be addressed if you don’t know what you are working with.
2. Create a new picture without watering down your dream. I had it in my head that seeing the Sistine Chapel and sipping Chianti meant three weeks of vacation and an expensive, elaborate plan to see the main cities of Italy. I freed myself of that exact picture and created a new one. I decided on a one week vacation and with the help of my amazing friend and travel agent (Jaine Nelson expertvacationstation.com) found an affordable way to see three Italian cities. A cruise!
3. Reveal your linebackers. Blocking you from making forward movement on the field are perhaps some subconscious (hidden) linebackers. The usual culprits: old limiting beliefs. What I uncovered was some beliefs about whether or not I deserved a vacation like that. I could hear that voice say, “Who are you to go on some extravagant vacation. That’s for other people… more successful people. What would people think of you? Isn’t that pretentious? You don’t deserve such luxury. You don’t do enough. You aren’t successful enough. You can’t ask anyone for help with your son. You can’t leave him for a week.” I allowed my doubts and fears to take over. With that new clarity, I could bring those voices to the surface and work with them. Those beliefs are much stronger and louder when they can hide out in the dark, but when you shine light on them, you can see them for what they are and you can make a choice to believe something different and then build your trust by acting upon it.
4. Make a plan. Once I decided that this vacation was something I really wanted, I could break it down financially and develop a strategy to make it happen. It could take a year, maybe even a couple years, but the point is to map out everything it will take to achieve it and begin step by step. In the process I take people through in my Dream Coaching, we break everything into 30 day projects. The forward movement brings a renewed energy to keep you going when you hit roadblocks.
5. Find a Village. I agree that it does take a village to raise a child, but it also takes a village to go on vacation! One of the obstacles of going on an adult vacation for many of us is the question of “What to do with the kids?” We often feel like we have to make our dreams come true all on our own because we haven’t allowed ourselves the divine gift of opening up to receive. We succumb to the old beliefs of burdening others or we equate asking for help with weakness. As it turns out, my village was more than happy to support me. Friends, neighbors, and grandparents all pitched in to help; not to mention accommodations from the school, the dance studio, and even business partners who graciously held down the professional fort while I was on vacation.
My call to action: Go into your closet of desires and pull out something you’ve been holding onto for “someday,” dust it off, and use the above steps to turn it into your dream for today.
