Have you ever had a dream that seems a little too big right now? You spend every waking moment thinking about every reason why this specific dream is going to be impossible to reach. For example, since I was 16, I was dreaming of going to New York City. It was a dream I had from the moment I came across a picture of New York City in my computer class when we had free time and I have spent every day since thinking and dreaming of one day going to New York City. Making my dream a reality. For many years it was impossible. I had every reason for it not to become a reality because I always felt like I needed permission to go. I needed permission from my boss, work, the universe. I always felt like the moment I started planning and finally getting closer, something would happen, stop me in my tracks and yet another year would pass, and New York wouldn’t happen.
Fast forward to 2019, when my dream trip to New York finally happened, I realized that for many years I had limited myself. I was always asking for permission, always looking for a sign or looking for a reason why I couldn’t go. It took me years to realize this and only once I had returned home from the most spectacular trip did I finally understand why I was limiting myself.
These where some of the limiting beliefs I was constantly telling myself.
I believed I couldn’t achieve it.
For years I would look at New York as this impossible, far-fetched dream that was going to cost me an arm and a leg. I always told myself that I would never be able to afford the flights, the accommodation, or the spending money but when my husband and I returned home from our Thailand trip in January 2018 something clicked inside of me. I thought, there is no way in hell I am going to turn 30 in the next couple of years and never have been to New York City when this has been my dream since I was 16. So, I changed my mindset. I told my husband, come hell or high water, New York City was happening in 2019 and he jumped on board with me and by the end of January 2018, we had already saved our first R5000 towards our New York trip.
What If I don’t make it
I remember the day we booked our flights. The moment we paid for them I turned to my husband and said ”What If we don’t save enough spending money”. Instead of feeling this overwhelming excitement, I froze up and immediately started thinking of every reason why I wouldn’t be able to do it. I was so scared I wouldn’t make it to New York and for a second I was telling myself I wouldn’t make it. It took a good and hard pep talk from my husband to knock everything back into perspective and put me back on the right track. By the time August 2019 come and we were due to leave, Chris and I had saved more than our goal amount. Now that I think about it, it was completely mind over matter. I had booked the tickets, paid over R30 000 for them and there was nothing that was going to stand in our way.
It’s not the right time
This was a problem I struggled with. I always felt like it was never the right time. I never had enough money, or I couldn’t get off work or things were to busy at work and I couldn’t afford to be away from the office. I came up with every excuse in the book as to why it was never the right time but in January 2018, I gave myself an end date, a timeline. I refused to let New York City just be a dream. It needed to be a reality and it wouldn’t become reality if I didn’t set a date for it. Setting a date for New York was a complete game-changer for me.
I had a timeline to work with and nothing could stand in the way of it. If I slacked for so much as 1 month with not savings it would completely throw me off, so I never slacked off. Every month I sat with a pen and piece of paper, wrote out my budget, and the moment my salary came into my account the first thing I did was transferred money over into my savings account. It became a habit for me.
Before I knew it, 22 August 2019 came and my husband and I were off to the Airport for our Honeymoon in New York City. My dream was finally going to become a reality. This trip and the amount of time and effort I put into this trip taught me that the fastest way to plow through self-doubt is with action. It’s taking that first step and continuing to take the next step every single day to reach your dream. I say this is many of my posts but I’ll say it again. It’s so easy for us to focus on the negative or the impossible. To focus on the reasons why we can’t do something as opposed to every reason why we CAN do something. Sometimes all it takes is just closing our eyes taking that first step and continuing from there.
Starting now, what can you do to get you closer to your dream? How can you start to move forward? How close would you be to your dream if you stopped asking for permission?
Here’s a quick reminder before you go. Remember, no one holds the power over you to permit you. You can permit yourself to make your dreams a reality.
It’s all up to you babe. Move forward and make those dreams a reality!
I’m already excited and proud of you.
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