Why don't I know what my big dream is?
And how do I find out?
We've been taught the Left-Brain ways.
There are left-brain ways to dream big, and there are right-brain ways to dream big.
Perhaps you’re familiar with the left-brain ways because you likely used it to get into your current career. It includes taking an inventory of your strengths, thinking about what you enjoy, and perhaps looking at an inventory of all the jobs out there and circling the ones that sound good to you.
It works pretty well for most of us. In fact, it can be a very practical means of determining how to make a living.
When I went to a career center way back in the 90’s, they gave me a bunch of tests (my first Myers-Briggs test) and forms to fill out. It spit out some areas that I should pursue and that was that. I don’t remember what it said, but I think I still have it in my attic, and I may go and take a look. I remember it being really useful; but I don’t remember making any career moves because of it.
Introducing the right-brain way
The right-brain way doesn’t replace the left-brain way, but should perhaps be done first. That’s because, while our left-brains are logical and can make great plans, it’s our right brains that are more abstract which means our right-brains can think bigger, tap into the unexpected, and make surprising connections.
We do this by intentionally using tools that open up our right brains. While we do this, there’s a 100% chance that our left brains will jump in and say, “That’s stupid.” So, not only do we need to learn some new tools, we need to be able to withstand the judgement of our left brains.
It takes effort to do your dreaming. You have carve out time, maybe work with a partner, and learn some new ways to access our right brain. But, a little bit of effort at the start can have big pay-offs in the end.
Why should we have big dreams?
It’s important to have big dreams for a couple of reasons:
1) When you’re on the path to more fulfilling work, your journey can take unexpected turns and roadblocks can seem insurmountable. That’s when you want to give up, or when you think you’ve chosen the wrong dream. But, if you’ve dreamed a big dream you can easily remind yourself of that dream and it gives you the extra energy and motivation to get past those hurdles.
2) The most important thing to do is to dream your big dream and then get on your path. The world will take care of right-sizing or re-directing your dream. Let’s say we only ever make it 50% of the way to our dream. If we’ve dreamed really big, 50% of the way is still going to look pretty good. But, if you dreamed too small, that 50% mark is going to feel like a big letdown.
Am I being delusional?
One of my clients asked me this as we got clearer on what his big dream was. Maybe. But isn’t it the so-called delusional people who do great things?
They become the astronauts, against all odds; the Olympians; the entrepreneurs who make a difference in the world. They become the artists who take the world by storm; or movie-makers who create stories that take our breath away.
I bet all of them, at some point, were told they were dreaming too big. But, they were following something that called to them in the most compelling way. This energy helped them focus, solve problems, and persevere.
"I don't have any big dreams."
I hear this a lot. It makes people really sad. This is one of the main reasons I do the work that I do. I was that terribly sad person for so many years because my work lacked deep meaning. I felt like I did all the right things career-wise, but sadness verging on depression followed me wherever I went.
If you really think about it, you can see that our school systems aren’t designed to create big dreams. They’re often (not always!) out-dated ways to create factory workers or cubicle dwellers. We sit in rows, take standardized tests, search for courses that we will hate the least.
If you feel like this, add the word “yet” to the end of that sentence. Because I’m pretty sure you have a dream inside you, waiting to come out.
"No one teaches us how to dream.
No one teaches us how to dream. We think we should just know how. And we don’t. This makes a lot of us believe that they don’t have a purpose or a big dream. When, really, you just haven’t been taught how.
That’s why so many of us are working outside “the system”. We’re coaches, entrepreneurs, astrologers, energy workers, etc. It’s because the culture is lagging in what people need right now, which is meaning and purpose.
Learning the tools.
I’ve written a bunch of posts on the different tools. So, I’m going to go find them and circle back to this post and post some links.
In the meantime, stay sensitive!
