Beverly Monical

Webster’s Dictionary gives the definition of satisfaction as fullfillment, gratification, contentment or compensation. As you work toward your dream, do any of these words help you feel like your dream is satisfying you?

When you realized what your dream was did you finally feel complete? If your dream was to find and marry a soulmate and you are married, then you ought to feel contentment. It doesn’t mean your life will always be perfect but you know you are on the right track. A happy marriage gives you a feeling of satisfaction, fullfillment and contentment. Your commitment to this dream gives you the passion and the willingness to make sacrifices to keep the dream.

I believe this will hold true for any dream we have for our future. Ask yourself, “Am I willing to pay the price for my dream?” If you hesitate to answer yes, then your dream may need to be rethought. There isn’t a single person in the world who has achieved a dream without paying a price to reach it. Some pay with their lives or their freedom. Others pay by giving up options or finances or relationships. Again I ask, Are you willing to do whatever it takes, give up whatever you have to, just to make your dream a reality?
“Every journey toward a dream is personal, and as a result, so is the price that must be paid for it”, a quote from John Maxwell’s book, Put Your Dream To The Test.

Look at how many people change their careers after years working in another profession. They go back to school and get another degree or maybe they just change jobs to something completely opposite of what they have done for years. Why does this happen to so many people? I believe it is because we were living someone else’s dream for us. Parents (I am guilty) sometimes tell their children from a young age, “You are so good at talking to people, I know you would be great in a sales position”. Maybe we convinced our daughters to be teachers because that is a great job for a working mom. I taught school for TWENTY years before I finally left. I always wanted to be a mom so I listened to my parents and that is exactly what I did. Was I happy, not really. I should have gone to school and learned about working with the elderly because I love helping them now. I volunteer with senior citizens because that brings me joy to help them.

Dreams must have a strategy to achieve them. There is no magic power in having a dream. You can’t just wait for it. You have to work for it. Mary Webb said, “Saddle your dreams before you ride them.” That means we need to plan to plan. Most people neglect to plan. In John Maxwell’s book, “Put Your Dream To The Test”, he devotes a whole chapter on strategies on how to plan.

If you hate what you are doing in order to pursue your dream then you are on the wrong path. Try to discover why you have set your dream as your goal. Are you paying too high a price for your dream? Maybe your problem is your attitude. The most reliable way to reach a big dream is to broaden yourself.
Never forget that the greatest reward of pursuing a dream is who you become as a result. And that is a good thing, because when you achieve your dream, the world is a better place.

God Bless You in your journey toward your dreams!
Beverly Monical