Are you future Dreaming yourself into Stagnation?
This month, we’re sharing a beautiful piece written by Alicia from Powerfully Human, our psychotherapist and a valued part of the Realign community. Originally shared on Alicia’s Substack, this reflection feels especially fitting as we move into spring... a season of renewal, change and new beginnings.
If you’d like to learn more about Alicia and her work, you can visit the Powerful Human website, follow @powerfullyhumanpsychotherapy on Instagram, or explore her Substack for more of Alicia’s writing and reflections.
We’re grateful to share her words with our Realign community and hope you enjoy this thoughtful reflection on the season ahead.
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This article is simply one perspective, my perspective. Take what feels good & leave the rest. Please, achievement does not define your worth. It's one of many life experiences that may offer joy, abundance, growth & opportunity for the next. The best way to show up is your best way to show up. What is yours only you can define. So I offer my definition, a perspective based on my own experience & knowledge. I hope it helps.
Future dream ~ Understand the values guiding you ~ Define your goal ~ Simplify the plan ~ Walk your path.
When I say walk your path I mean, show up for the to do list each day you designed to lead towards your goal. Do the things you say you're going to do & gift yourself compassion & patience when you can't, so you can try again.
Lately I have been thinking about simplicity & showing up. How they interact, how leaning into the first boosts the latter.
I'm asking myself to show up this week. To take the actions that lead towards my larger goals. To follow through with the plans I set for myself each day. This is where simplicity comes in.
The simpler my plans, the more effortless to action, the closer I perceive my goals.
Simplicity has requested I pull back on the "future dreaming". My god I can dream myself into a passionate frenzy of ideas, 95% of which are left spiraling around my mind. You know that feeling of energy in the brain that seeps into the body. That specific flavour of energised ~ difficult to uitilise in the moment because it scrambles your brain & ability to focus ~. Big dreaming is the birth of the idea but not the rearing nor achievement of the goal.
To take your dreams out of the passionate brain blender you need to simplify them.
Work them down to a step by step process. The more specific, simple & achievable each step the easier they are to take on. Decreasing avoidance and increasing your flow of dopamine!
No step is too small to define your speed towards your goal.
Focus less on the pace toward your goal, since pace is influence by external factors impacting your capacity to show up & complete goals. Pace isn't always in your control, so reframe your perspective. Expect to run into inconvenient barriers & information that changes the process of your plan.
Flexibility allows for blessings to enter the chat that make your life easier & your dreams abundant. The step by step plan you created is meant to change, its meant to be flexible. Remember ~ you don’t have the birds eye view of the path you're walking because you're on it. So trust the redirections, don’t ruminate or hesitate. Show up. If you make a mistake learn & you grow. Those mistake will give you information you didn’t have when you designed the plan, what you now know can nourish your plan & boost your dream into a plane of abundance you didn’t know existed.
So exhale the tension out of your shoulders so you can show up with ease.
Future Dream
What do you want? Describe the image that comes to your head. The features of the image.
Understand the values guiding you
Why do you want what you want? What needs are being met? What desires are being satisfied? How are you hoping this goal or dream will help you feel?
Understanding why you value the destination of your journey & the outcome of your plan will feed your motivation to walk the path you lay out as your drive ebs & flows over the time your executing your plan.
Define your goal
What is your goal exactly? Ensure your goal is one thing.
If you future dream contains many goals lay them out separately. The less goals at one time the easier it will be to channel your energy. Remember your energy is finite! Burn out is a risk so aim for an easeful journey where possible. The unknown environmental circumstances coming your way may not have ease mind. Utilize the choice you have by choosing ease, self-compassion & patience.
Simplify the plan
What are the smaller actions that lead toward the larger goal? If the goal is exercising once a week the first action may be researching what exercise feels good for you. The second may be finding a place to do it. What time are you going to set aside for yourself to complete the smaller actions? Remember achievability is key. Set more than enough time for yourself to complete the goal.
Walk your path
Now, take action. Allow the cycle of the definition, simplification & actions to cycle through you with each change.
This is your journey so don’t beat yourself up if you're unable to keep to the plan or something changes or you can't "show up" how you previously decided you would. Bullying yourself is harmful not helpful. Encourage yourself to show up & offer yourself the gift of compassion & patience. Then try again tomorrow. Your capacity to keep showing up in the face of all the torment, inconvenience and heaviness of this world & this life will in the end decide whether you will live your dream.
Embody the belief you can achieve your dreams by trying AGAIN to SHOW UP.
Once you're on your path, surrender. Surrender to the ebs, flows, the changes of direction, the shifts in process, the changes in steps, allow curiosity and open heartedness to guide your way. Accept the blessings & embody redirection. Allow your dreams to be nourished & your goals to over flow in abundance. You may end up exactly where you planned or a destination bigger and better than you ever imagined, or not.
Regardless, start. Simplify you plan and walk your path without hesitation.
