I have dreams and my hunch is that you do, too. So what if we flipped the switch and stopped believing that “the struggle is real and we started believing “the dream is real? I don’t know about you, but I’d be all over a conversation with that lead in.  

It’s not that I think it’s struggle free, but it has to start somewhere, right? And I’m a firm believer that it begins with a shift in our thinking/mindset. Maybe you’ve started contemplating your New Year’s resolutions or perhaps, like me, you’ve made them so many times in the past and never stuck with them that it just sort of seems pointless.  

One thing I know for sure is that I want 2017 to be a year of dreaming more so I’ve decided to change it up a bit. I’m setting aside my oh too familiar list of resolutions and I’m getting more clear about my dreams. And I’d love for you to join me.  I want to stop playing it so safe and step out of my comfort zone because that’s where I know that you and I have the potential for so much more growth. I can find myself just gong through the motions, at times, where I just get lost in a daily list of my to do’s, and I can lose sight of what I’m moving toward personally and professionally. I’m going to commit to putting my dreams in writing and talking about them more. I want to start focusing more on all the possibilities instead of my lengthy list of all that seems impossible . I want my faith and hope to trump my fear. I want to embrace failure and learn from it because I know it’s part of the process. I want to look forward instead of backwards. I want to focus on what I can change not what I can’t. I want to pray more and worry less. I want to set aside distractions and spend more quality time with family and friends. I want my words to express more gratitude and less bad attitude. I want to be more thoughtful of others and be less preoccupied with myself. I want to lift people up rather than tear them down. I want to talk more with people than about people. I want to search out solutions rather than just complain about problems. I want to loosen my grip on some of the things I hold so tightly to, especially things like my free time and money. I want less stress and more peace. I want to focus more on the dream being real than the struggle being real. And for all of this to be possible, I need more of God and less of me.  

What about you? Do you have any plans or thoughts about starting the new year? Are you making New Year’s resolutions? Or is there a dream you’re ready to pursue or maybe reignite? Let’s make 2017 a year of believing that those big, crazy, exciting, wild, fantastic, amazing, and outrageous thoughts in our heads that get us so excited about our future, well, they’re a dream you and I have and the dream is real.