Do you dream of escaping the average? Do you want to become awesome and exceptional, but don’t know where to start?
Here’s a tip: If you want to become awesome, you have to punch fear in the face.
Fear can alienate you from your dreams. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t let it, but to beat fear, you have to understand how it works. Fear prevents you from chasing your dreams by convincing you that they’re impractical or unattainable. But don’t buy into that kind of defeatist thinking. Instead, write down your fears and then exaggerate them ridiculously, to show yourself how silly those fears actually are.
For example, if you’re afraid that starting a new project will cause you to lose your job and stay unemployed, write that down. And then let yourself go farther. Imagine you’ll end up on the street with a scraggly beard, sleeping on top of garbage bags and talking to stray cats.
Does that seem likely? Probably not, which is why you need to write it down. That way you can see how illogical your fears really are, and thus prevent them from controlling you.
Luckily, there’s one more effective way to deal with fear’s mind games: Just start doing whatever you’re scared of.
You have no control over the eventual result, but that won’t ever change. You’ll never know how things will end up, but at least you can control the outset. If you want to do something, do it!
For example, consider the Segway. When it was first introduced, people thought it might spark a transportation revolution. And yet, since its launch the Segway hasn’t been such a great success. Still, the Segway people deserve respect. They risked failure and pursued their awesome dream of developing weird, two-wheeled electric transporters.
Be realistic about where you are now, but dream big to figure out where you want to go.
If you want to be awesome, you have to get comfortable with tension. You have to be a realist and a dreamer, practical and impractical, logical and illogical – all at the same time.
To start your journey, you need to find out which parts of your life feel average. Do this by examining key areas of your life – social, intellectual, professional – and writing down which ones you want to improve.
Here’s where the tension comes in. Although you should dream big, it’s also important to be realistic. List current debts, responsibilities (are you a husband/wife, a father/mother a coach?) and assets (university degrees or social connections) that would affect your ability to pursue your dream and be realistic.
Learn from mistakes. Your current reality doesn’t have to be a cage, but it is a jumping-off point.
So lets write down every crazy dream you have – even if you’ve never played an instrument, but want to rock a major festival. Next to your dreams, write down a list of first steps that could get you there. Then pick one and get going!
Good luck:)
Marietta
