I am pleased that life coach Mary Ann Bailey gave me permission to reproduce the following article on realising our dreams and making changes in our life. I think you will find it very valuable.
The Willingness Factor
What are your dreams? What would you love to do if you could find the courage to step outside the parameters of your current life and pursue the visions that keep dancing around in your head?
Do you want to start your own business? Do you want to travel to Africa to work with AIDS orphans? Maybe you want to take a class in photography or creative writing or maybe train for a triathlon. Or maybe your dream is to move to the country and grow organic fruits and vegetables for the local farmers' market. Whatever your dreams may be, they are part of what makes you so unique. Your dreams are a gift to all of us; and if they are lost, the world shines a little less brightly.
But it can be difficult to take the dreams that are living in our head and make them a reality because making any kind of change in our life creates resistance, fear and doubt. Sometimes this toxic trio can seem like too great an obstacle to overcome. Yet, there are many people who do realize their dreams. How do they do it? What special talents and skills do they possess that help them to persevere in the face of these obstacles? Are they smarter? Do they have better problem solving skills? Have they read a better variety of self-help books?
The answer to all these questions is a resounding "No." It doesn't take any special innate talents to live your dreams. There is no secret formula or process to follow that will guarantee your success. There is only one thing you need and it is something that we can all access. The best predictor of someone's ability to successfully achieve their dreams is their level of willingness.
Willingness
Willingness is the key to successful and sustainable change; for without being willing to take risks, face obstacles, or try new things, there is no space for the change process to take place. Yet, willingness can be a fickle entity. We always seem to be able to muster it up at the onset of idea; however, as the change process unfolds and obstacles appear, our willingness often disappears into myriad of excuses we come up with as to why this idea is actually not so great.
To be successful, our willingness must be unconditional from beginning to end. We must be willing to take risks and try new things, to trust in the process of change, and to believe in ourselves and our ability to achieve our dreams. If we give up in any of these areas, our likelihood of success drops dramatically.
