Dare to Dream
Do you dare to dream? Have you let hardships or facts in your life steal them away from you? As years go by we often let dreams go. How sad is that? Imagination is where God breathes life into every new invention known to man. Dreams take us to our better tomorrow. Are you dreaming about your future? I’ve been dreaming about where I want to be 5 years from now. I am painting the picture in my mind. Each day, I add a little more sparkle, a splash more color, a bolder texture to my story. In reality, I can barely draw a stick figure, but in my imagination, I am brilliant. I am becoming aware of more ideas. I am starting to see it, feel it, and some days I can almost touch it. Each day it becomes a little more real. The excitement is building as my thought life shows me the next step. Just one more step each day.
Napoleon Hill, back in the 30’s said, “Your dominating thoughts are like magnets. They attract to us the forces, the people, the circumstances of life which harmonize with the nature of your dominating thoughts.” That is fascinating to me. Our dominating thoughts are like powerful magnets. All of a sudden I’m picturing myself back as a child playing with two magnets one on top of the table and one underneath magically dragging the top one along fooling friends with magical powers…. But I don’t think that was quite what he was getting at.
Did you know your thoughts are actually energy? They are electrical currents in your brain. Your brain has over 100 billion neurons firing electrical impulses through thousands of synaptic connections. Each of these actions, interactions, and reactions trigger thousands of messages. Energy flows. It travels. The pattern of the travel can be seen on different types of brain scans. It’s quite fascinating.
Physics tells us that everything is made up of atoms that vibrate together. This energy that vibrates at one frequency attracts more energy of the same frequency. When Napoleon Hill identified dominating thoughts attract “like” energy, he was defining concepts we are just starting to grasp in science today.
Isn’t that crazy to think about? Our thought energy impacts and influences the physical energy of opportunities, experiences, and outcomes. This doesn’t necessarily mean if I think a happy thought, more happy things come into my world. But the reality is my dominating thoughts, the thoughts I dwell on and feed daily to my subconscious mind, do broadcast a certain energy and attract other sources of similar energy. What that means for me is that I actually have the ability to influence some of the energy (ideas, opportunities, experiences, and outcomes) drawn into my life.
If I choose to think negative thoughts, and fill my mind with all the things that don’t work or I don’t like or I follow habits that are destructive, I am putting out negative energy. This energy will attract like energy. Those old adages are true, “birds of a feather flock together” and “misery loves company.” With my negative mindset, I draw that type of energy into my life. But if I choose to renew my mind, as Philippians says, focus on what is true, right, and pure, I begin to attract more of that energy into my life. Energy attracts like energy.
So I am dreaming and imagining about where I am headed. I’m thinking, feeling, and saturating myself in those bigger thoughts and where I believe my faith is leading me to go. I don’t want to stay in the status quo, the monotony, the daily grind…. I want more out of my life. I want a thriving life that continues to live out my potential. I might not be able to avoid all the bumps and bruises that come along the way, but I certainly don’t have to be stuck in the mire. I can intentionally choose my dominating thoughts and set the course for a different future.
Reflect: Do you dream about your future? If you are not happy with the status quo, think about where you would like to be. What is your mindset like today? What’s bouncing around in your thought environment that might be influencing your current situation? Do you see that you might be stuck in your old patterns of thinking, living out the status quo?
Take Action: You can begin to renew your mind, change your thinking, and grow beyond today. What are you going to choose? Think about a dream, a goal, or a desire. Write it out in detail. Your thinking might be holding you back from progress toward that goal. What would you need to change in your thinking to begin to open up this door of opportunity in your life?
Real Life Examples:
One individual I have been speaking with wanted more out of his career, but he had a mindset that held him back. He wanted to move from being a solo technical expert to becoming a manager. But his mind was fraught with ideas like, “I don’t know how to manage people,” and “I can’t lead others,” and “What if I mess up?” His thinking was holding him back. Rather than be stuck in his fear, he needed to focus on the truth of his God given potential. He worked on changing his mindset to include thoughts like, “I have leadership resources to help me grow and learn more,” and “It’s okay to make mistakes, I can learn from them and move on,” and “I know really good leaders who I can model and learn from.” He focused his thoughts on his dream and the next step, rather than being stuck in his current patterns of disbelief. Not too long after, he was promoted to a management role in his field of specialty.
A teacher was given the opportunity to work with a classroom of 20 students in a failing school in the inner city. She knew she would potentially have the same students for 2-3 years if they came to school and didn’t drop out. She intentionally set out to create an environment that set them up for growth and worked to challenge their “poverty” mindset every day, several times a day. When she heard thinking that would hold them back, she helped them see the limiting belief and taught them to think differently. She encouraged and showed them how to believe in themselves, in their dreams, and in their potential. When her three year tenure was complete, each of those children graduated to the next level.
Your thinking and results won’t change overnight, but with intentionality you can begin to develop and nurture more of your potential for your future. You were meant for more. Don’t let your current thinking hold you back. Choose to grow. Sign up for a mastermind series or a mentoring course and begin to challenge and nurture your growth. You won’t regret it.
Photo credit: Dayne Topkin
