Before I begin this post, I will acknowledge that I might have a bit of a hippy/hipster vibe going on. I ride my bike, vaguely consider dumpster diving at least once for food, urban forage, shop at Goodwill, and several other things that I don’t want to mention. So I get that you might be thinking, what is this next new agey topic Michelle’s about to talk to us about now? Well, today I want to talk about manifesting your dreams, the importance of writing things down, and the most frustrating thing about the process of manifesting your dreams. I want to begin by asking the following question:
Do You Write Down Your: Hopes, Wishes, and Dreams?
If you don’t-why not? Do you think it’s a waste of time? Do you feel a little silly doing it? Or, do you think the idea of “manifesting” things is kind of hokey? Why is this even on my mind? Well, the other day I was cleaning out a drawer and found a small gorgeous leather bound book with the following words on the front: Dreams and Thoughts. A dear friend had given this to me for Christmas and as I have a long history of journaling, I went straight to work writing down the things that I dreamed of. By the way, I was given this journal in 2011 and wrote a number of dreams and goals for the future.
Some of my dreams and goals included:
- Lose Weight
- Have a better relationship with my mom
- Spend less
- Continue studying Spanish
- Go to Meetups and met more people
- Spend more time with Grandma
- Go to NYC with mom and watch the US Tennis Open
- Go to London for the Olympics
Did any of this happen…in the way that I envisioned? Yes…and…NO
- I am losing weight! I think I have lost around 12-15 pounds.
- My mom and are doing great. Mother/daughter relationships can be challenging but I have really worked on how I react to things that come up.
- I do spend less overall but still have my slightly over the top moments
- I am still studying Spanish, but haven’t taken a class in the past year
- Meetups-I was going to Meetups and also was in a kickball league. I also went to Speed Dating. I’ve met some great people and strengthened other friendships as a result of participating in these activities.
- Just got back from visiting Grandma last week. I really want to spend as much time as possible with my Grandma as I can. Enough said.
- Last year Mom and I went to NYC and watched the US Tennis Open. This was a fantastic experience and we still talk about it from time to time.
- 2 years ago I went to London for a wedding instead of the Olympics. Who cares that I missed the Olympics?! They are happening again in another 2 years in Brazil. Who’s counting?
There are several other dreams and goals that are coming together that I wrote down and I can’t wait to share that with you guys soon! The thing that I’ve learned from looking at my journal is this:
The dreams and goals you have take time, focus,
and work:
I think that people give up on dreams because they don’t manifest in the way that they “hope” they would. Or, people give up on dreams and goals because they don’t happen in the time frame that they have set for attaining what they want. DON’T DO THAT!!! Things may shift and change but if you write down what you want you will begin slowly doing the things that will create the possibility of having what you want. The key is: you will dream it, think it, make a vision board, and then consciously and subconsciously begin doing the work that will draw what you want into your life.
It took 3 freaking years for a number of my dreams and goals to happen…but they happened…
I wasn’t ready to put the work in to some of my goals and dreams. Or, I wasn’t sure where to begin. Things take time, but once you figure out what you want, the how will come to you. It is frustrating that some of what I want has taken so long to happen, but I appreciate everything else that has happened and believe that I want for myself will come soon.
So I encourage you to get a journal, a notebook, a piece of paper, or a tablet and start manifesting (and working towards) what you want.
It’s almost 2015. Start writing stuff down NOW…So, what are you working towards? Share!
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I’m working toward debt freedom and staying home with my girls!
Kirsten you will rock that goal!!!
Love this! I don’t always write down my goals/dreams but I do type them 🙂 I’ve been putting up goals/dreams, etc on my blog since the beginning and it’s a nice way to be able to look back at them and see where I was and how far I’ve come.
I also use a vision board to help me visualize what I want. Every time I walk past that board there is a subconscious kick in the pants to keep moving towards what I want for myself.
I always take time to write down my goals and express how I intend to fulfill them. As you said, it can take years but it’s a great feeling when it happens. 2014 has been an incredibly positive year for me and I am so thankful. I am now working on my list for 2015. Great post!
One thing I have learned is you have to be so clear and specific or else you risk sending confusing energy to the “Universe.” I am in the process of preparing my list for 2015 and it’s a doozy!
You did quite a bit! I write them down each year and then break them down into monthly goals from there. And yes sometimes things manifest themselves differently than you’d imagined, but hey sometimes it’s even better. One thing that surprised me this year was learning ukulele. I really thought this was my biggest stretch goal and I still cannot believe I can now play music. I haven’t written out anything yet for 2015 but I usually do that in December when people are busy with their Christmas stuff and I’m not. 🙂
I was pretty surprised to see what I accomplished. This year I am spending more time than usual really looking at what I want for myself and figuring out how to make things happen. I haven’t really broken things down into monthly goals…I think that’s something I should look into. I remember trying to learn how to play a violin in fourth grade and hating it. Of course now I regret quitting 🙁
I definitely believe in the manifestation part, but I also think that for me, writing down what I really want in life can actually help me prioritize where my focus should be and then integrate. I think we miss the integration part often when it comes to goal setting. For me, I’ve been wanting to lose 15 pounds for the last 3 years, but once I integrated it into wanting a more sustainable lifestyle (i.e. no car or industrial, packaged foods), the weight came off pretty effortlessly!
I always feel a little funny bringing the topic of manifesting your dreams because people react like you’re making wishes. But, I have continuously had the experience of usually getting what I want when I write it down and send it out to the Universe re: what I want. But really, I am telling myself what I want.
Great goals and great progress you’ve made! This year I didn’t have a goal as much as I had a power word and I am happy to say I feel like I’ve gotten really far with that, especially in the whole controlling my emotions category. However, I decided to write some goals out for 2015 and things I am hoping for are losing 30lbs, saving up $3,000 in an e-fund, finishing two more semesters of my Criminology program and growing my new site to help me make $1,000 in additional income. 🙂
Thanks Athena! I would love to know what your power word is. I have been following your progress and I agree-you’ve ROCKED It this year! Sending support for next year’s goals and I can’t read the posts where you talk about: weight loss, your e-fund, and kicking but in your Criminology program. I do think that your new site will make more than $1000. Can’t wait to read that post!
I absolutely think it’s important. I wanted to pay off my debt, and writing about it helped make it happen. I wanted to be able to afford real estate, and I kept writing and focusing on it until it happened. Now? Actually, honestly, I really don’t know. I have goals and I think I have been afraid to write them down. So this was a good motivator to go do it!
Just write them down and be audacious. Can’t wait to hear what you decided to do next!
This is great, Michelle! I have fallen way behind with journaling, which I don’t feel good about. I need to make it more of a priority. There’s something different about writing things down versus typing them. I think it’s amazing you’ve achieved so much already! I agree that some people tend to give up when they don’t see progress happening as fast as they like, but everything is a work in progress. If our goals were achieved instantaneously, there wouldn’t be any satisfaction involved.
I have also fallen behind in journaling which makes me kind of sad. I blog but what I would journal about would obviously be more in depth…I was surprised to see my progress too and I had totally forgotten about that book. I think the key to my post is sometimes (often) things will happen for you-just not on your schedule. I have other things that I wrote down that will be happening soon and they were definitely not on my schedule!
I used to write in the way you mention – on New Year’s Eve – but I think I got jaded. Too many disappointments when the year’s end came, and no dream fulfilled. But perhaps what you say about timing is the key. I should take a look at some of those old dreams and see if any have come true – just later than I was hoping.
Why don’t you write down what you want now? And just skip the attachment to New Year’s Eve. Then just see how things go. Also, I’m wondering about your old lists, did things happen? Share?
I absolutely love this post! I used to journal every day when I was much younger and I’ve since stopped the habit. I need to pick it back up! Having a gratitude journal really changes your present mindset and writing down goals really helps you focus on what you really want.
I miss journaling and I would like to get back into the habit. I think it’s a great way to clear the mind of things that you can focus too much on.
I didn’t make a vision board got this year but I’m definitely making one for 2015 as I missed having one and I think it really helps me to stay focussed.
The vision board WORKS!! I will be tweaking mine this week and adding very specific things to it with specific objectives. Let me know how yours goes.
Great post! I’m looking forward to making an attainable goal list for the new year. I’ve never done one before!
Keep us posted on your listed so that we can cheer you on!
I’m working towards a few things. I am working on paying off my debt, saving money and I planning on going to Rio in 2016.
Awesome! Those are totally attainable goals. Rock it.