How To Follow Your Dreams: 23 Steps And Why It’s Worth It
Wondering how to follow your dreams? You’re not alone. You may strive for the cultural definition of success. But did you know that according to Forbes, this is the number one reason professionals lose sight of their thrilling dreams for the future?
Learning how to follow your dreams takes time, effort, and often involves pushing financial success down the list of priorities—at least for a while. For centuries, people have pushed their dreams to the side, despite their desire to follow their dreams.
In fact, in 1854, in his book, Walden, Henry David Thoreau wrote that “most men lead lives of quiet desperation.” This phrase reflects a good portion of western culture nearly two centuries later (although today we’ve swapped the phrase quiet desperation for the rat race).
Rather than stay on the sidelines of your aspirations, there are ways to learn how to follow your dreams without sacrificing everything else to do so. In this article, I cover:
Why is it hard to follow your dreams?
Pursuing your dreams takes stamina. Sometimes it’s difficult to stay motivated.
For those who have agency, I would argue that one of the key differentiating factors between individuals who follow their dreams to completion and those who don’t see their dreams to completion is the grit and growth mindset.
It’s hard to pursue your dream when so much feels stacked against you.
You may wonder how to not fail or how to get into a creative mindset so that you can follow your dreams. Instead of thinking that far down the road, let’s start with small steps.
23 Steps to take to help you follow your dreams
Below are 23 steps you can begin to take today. While there is no magic answer to learning how to follow your dreams or ultimately succeed, taking the right steps can set you on a trajectory toward success. Do you want to learn how to follow your dreams? Start with one small step, such as determining why you want to.
1. Determine you why
Simon Sinek’s TED Talk and book, Start With Why, laid a breakthrough foundation for business and individuals with big aspirations. Before asking how to follow your dreams, take an honest look at why you want to. Are you looking for:
Social recognition?
A way to prove yourself?
Personal fulfillment?
A way to help others?
Why you pursue your dreams will influence how you go about pursuing them.
2. Be honest about your goal
Whether in the creative process or daily life, it’s crucial to recognize that every yes is a no to something else. Similar to identifying why you want to learn how to follow your dreams, be gut-level honest about what your goal is.
Is your goal big enough to say no to the opportunities you will need to forego in order to spend the appropriate time on your goals?
3. Consider the cost
No one can know what it will ultimately take to achieve your goal. This is why considering the cost before setting out can make the difference between leaving a project unfinished or pushing through to the end.
Before setting out, lay the foundation: what are you willing to sacrifice for your goal, and what are you not willing to give up?
4. Imagine your life if you succeed
While imagining success is a popular performance-enhancement, particularly for athletes, try taking a different angle. What would your daily life look like if you succeeded in achieving your goal?
At 13-years-old and new to Nashville, it’s unlikely Taylor Swift imagined she’d be forced to leave her producer’s rehearsal dinner due to fans swarming the restaurant.
She also didn’t imagine there would be headlines such as Taylor Swift Era’s Tour Concert Film or that her creativity would literally boost the economy in the countries she visited while on tour.
While it’s unlikely (although possible) you’ll need to worry about these daily occurrences, imagine what your daily life would look like if you succeeded. Are you willing to deal with the side effects of success?
5. Articulate your goal
Once you know your why, it’s time to set goals. Short term goals are often best because they help you take regular steps that feel achievable. For instance, if you want to run a marathon, you may start by setting a goal of running one mile every morning.
6. Start working out
I hear you. Your goal may not be to become a professional athlete, but studies show that frequent exercise often pairs with increased creativity. Exercise and creativity go hand in hand, not to mention the many health benefits.
7. Develop a mindset of endurance
If you are determined to succeed you need to develop a mindset of endurance so you can stay focused. Learning how to follow your dreams relies on your commitment to endure.
Achieving your goals don’t just happen.
Whether you train your brain through physical activity (mentioned above) or a hobby unrelated to your dreams, work to develop a mindset of endurance.
8. Push yourself outside your comfort zone
Pushing yourself outside your comfort zone in areas unrelated to your dreams can help you pursue your goal with confidence. The good news is, traveling the world isn’t the only way to grow your zone of comfort.
You can pursue various experiences that grow your comfort zone for little to no cost. The more you collect experiences, the more confidence you achieve. This confidence can translate into a renewed commitment to learn how to follow your dreams and to achieve them.
9. Don’t talk about your goals
Did you know that the first rule for accomplishing goals is don’t tell anyone about them?
Research shows that while people often view accountability as key to success (and it does play a role), telling people about your goals actually lessens your success rate.
So, tell people about your bucket list all you want, but keep your goals to yourself. How to follow your dreams well involves a bit of privacy.
10. Get feedback from other creatives
While part of following your dreams includes going after them in solitude, feedback helps boost success. Carefully choose creatives who are a bit further down the road than you are, then ask for feedback.
For instance, if you wonder how to handle platform building for creatives, ask someone with a strong platform how they built it. If you’re an aspiring graphic designer, request constructive criticism from a fellow designer.
11. Join a creative community
Depending on your location, you may not have much access to others in the creative sector. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t join an online community or visit like-minded creatives every now and then. Writing communities have helped me when I need writing tips or basic encouragement. I know my creative friends in other fields benefit from their communities as well.
12. Recognize progress is not linear
For all the good social media brings, there is also a negative side of comparison. It’s easy to compare your first attempt to someone else’s highlight reel.
Learning how to follow your dreams in a way you can sustain involves recognizing that your progress ebbs and flows.
Some days you will take great strides forward. Some days you won’t. Don’t allow yourself to grow discouraged. Instead, remember that progress is not always seen as up and to the right.
13. Celebrate your wins
This point is one I need to better implement into my own life. Don’t forget that progress matters, no matter how small. If you want to become an author and finish writing your first draft, celebrate.
Acknowledging progress can help you recognize how far you’ve come.
14. Don’t celebrate your wins
To go hand-in-hand with the above, a professor at Stanford University says that as you reach your goals, your dopamine will diminish rather than peak. Because of this, he says celebrating all your wins is dangerous. So while you should celebrate your progress, refuse the urge to celebrate every single win.
15. Pursue creative entrepreneurship
Just because you love the creative industries doesn’t mean you can’t be a creative and also be a creative entrepreneur. Part of knowing how to follow your dreams lies in understanding how to make them financially feasible. Speak with entrepreneurs further down the road, read books on finance, and meet with a financial advisor as you plan your next steps.
16. Grow from failure
On the road to success, everyone fails in some capacity. The foundation to learning how to not fail lies in articulating how to grow from failure. Even the best business plans sometimes fail. The creative field is no different.
Rather than fear failure, embrace various ways to take charge of your creative passion no matter what moment you find yourself in—failure or success. This mindset will help keep you on the road to following your dreams.
17. Evaluate the cost (again)
Periodically, re-evaluate the cost that comes with success. Learning how to follow your dreams means deciding how to balance:
Personal life
Professional life
Physical health
Mental health
Day job
Goals
There are seasons when it’s vital to set aside following your dreams so you can spend the appropriate time elsewhere. When the time is right, get back to it. Your dreams will be waiting for you.
18. Commit to the process
Are you determined to succeed? Commit to the various levels of success. Successfully running a marathon starts with getting off the couch. This part of the process doesn’t seem heroic, but it’s a foundational step.
Never underestimate the power of committing to the micro details in a macro project.
19. Accept that not everyone will understand
Let’s say you want to become a thought leader and book speaking opportunities around the globe. You decide that in order to succeed, you need to:
Commit to spend two hours a night educating yourself on your topic
Rebrand your social media to better reflect who you want to become
Pitch yourself as a speaker to jump-start your career
Not everyone will understand that you are now busy at nights, studying. Not everyone will appreciate your rebrand. Simply accept this, consider the constructive criticism you receive, and move on.
20. Learn from inspiring individuals
Do your best to find people who lead the life you one day hope to live. Take notes on their habits, what they read, who they engage with, and how they spend their days. If you have access to them, meet up for coffee. If you want to learn how to follow your dreams, learn from those who already have. Emulate what works, and toss what doesn’t.
21. Expand your horizons
Part of knowing how to follow your dreams relies on defining what you don’t want.
The more you can expand your horizons, the more streamlined following your dreams can become. When I was in high school I enrolled in a speech class at a community college. I was so intimidated by public speaking I wanted to complete the class before I graduated high school and started classes at a university.
However, through taking the speech class I realized I loved speaking. While I originally thought I knew what I didn’t want (to speak in public), expanding my horizons helped me learn what I did want.
22. Engage in a mentorship
If you have access to an in-person mentor or coach, take advantage of the opportunity. Learning how to follow your dreams often relies, at least in part, on learning from someone who has succeeded before you.
Even a one-off meeting with a professional in your field can push you in ways you never imagined.
Part of what it takes to achieve your dream is hearing feedback from mentors and coaches. Get clear on your dreams as early as possible. Take to heart what your coaches tell you. And don’t give up.
23. Remember your why
Remember Simon Sinek’s TED Talk from the beginning of this article? Before asking how to follow your dreams, take an honest look at why you want to. Periodically, refer back to your why.
Knowing why you choose to commit to the long term goal helps you establish a grit and growth mindset. This type of mindset can act as the determining factor between success and failure. Remember your why and refuse to give up.
How do I get the courage to follow my dreams?
If you want to get the courage to follow your dreams, set yourself up for success. Identify your long term goal and then focus more on the end goal than on what you imagine others may think about you.
In point two of 15 Tips For Transformational Success, I share how learning to follow your dreams in a way that doesn’t end in failure relies on mitigating the effect of failure. Here are more tips on how to not fail.
When you internalize the mindset of success, you learn how to follow your dreams courageously.
Should I follow my dreams or be realistic?
A major factor in learning how to follow your dreams comes down to a single thought process, split in two: combine realistic steps you can take in the present with forward thinking on how you can one day achieve your goal in the future.
For instance, if you want to be a full time novelist, by all means, go after your dream. However, take realistic steps that will help you you learn how you to follow your dreams long-term:
Keep your day job
Take writing classes
Invest in coaching
Write, write, write
Learning how to follow your dreams in a way you can sustain means taking realistic steps. Use this resource to help you take charge of your creative passion and start following your dream today.
It’s worth spending time learning how to follow your dreams to see what might happen if you stick with it. If you follow the above steps, imagine where you could be six months from now. You never know where you could end up!
