The Basics Of Achieving OUr Dreams
When we formulate our plans, it is tempting to go big. We often overestimate what we can do in six months while underestimating what we can do in two years. I’m sure many of us discovered this when we reached the six-month mark of the year. Many of us have realized that we need a new plan, but I would implore us to focus purely on the basics of our dreams.
For every dream, there are a set number of basics that we must follow. And I don’t know about you, but I find myself leaving the basics almost as soon as I get there. If our dream is big enough, the facts don’t matter. By that, I mean that if we believe in our dreams enough, then the work will figure itself out. Our passion and belief will drive us through the monumental wall that stands in our way. It doesn’t mean that we can forget the primary principles of what it takes to do the thing we’re doing.
The basics are simple, repetitive, and eventually boring, so we move away from them. We can fall into the trap of thinking we are better than the basics. It’s kind of like when we get into a funk in our relationships but then realize it is just because we haven’t been spending time together. Everything smooths back over when we go back to the basics of date nights and intentional time together.
In school, we never move away from the basics. Take math class, for example; we start learning with add, subtract, multiply, and divide. However, we never move beyond using those simple skills in everything we do. Sure, algebra, geometry, and calculus are much more complicated versions of that, but at the end of the day, they are the same skills that we learned in first grade.
With our dreams, the basics can be more complicated to look at. If we all took the time, we could identify the top three to five things we need to be doing, but are we actually identifying the basics? Sometimes, we identify something one to two levels above the basics, which can burn us out.
If our dream is to run a marathon, the basics would likely be run, stretch, and fuel. Running a marathon means actually running. We need to train in that activity at a pace that supports our race goals. Then, we also need stretching or some sort of recovery activity that keeps our muscles in shape—finally, the basics of fueling our bodies with food, water, and whatever supplements we may need.
Problems arise when we set a plan that goes too far off the basics. We put ourselves on a strict, unsustainable diet that can actively work against our goals. Or maybe we plan to run five miles a day, rain or shine, putting us in hazardous situations that cause injury. Or we set a running goal that doesn’t progressively get harder. If we only ever run five miles a day, that’ll eventually get easy, but it won’t prepare us for 26.2. Or we think of stretching as something so easy and straightforward that we don’t need it anymore, which leads to injury and halts our progress even more.
I don’t know if anyone feels this way, but it is so easy for me to think that I am above doing the simple things that my dream requires. It’s like I reach a certain point of consistency and then think I’m better than the simple things. If I know what I am doing and am good at it, I can advance beyond the minor league. However, I often fail to realize that the major league is the same thing.
It doesn’t matter what level we are playing baseball at. It is all still the same game with hitting, catching, throwing, and running. The same things that got me where I am today will get me where I want to be tomorrow. I think it is the boring part that gets to me. The same brain that can’t watch a reel if it is longer than a minute also wants to mix up the activity I am doing. But boring stuff is important, too.
We have to brush our teeth and remember to pack sunscreen (anyone catch what Bluey episode I’m referring to?). It’s the details in our lives that build off of one another. When we break our dreams down to the basics, it is so insanely simple. The work we do on a day-in and day-out basis adds up to our dream come true. We just lose sight of the dream and get too focused on the results. That’s when the train goes off the rails.
So, we must ask ourselves if we are doing the right work for our dreams. Are we doing that work to the caliber that we need to be doing it? Doing something half-heartedly can still add value when it’s here and there, keeping us in the habit, but in the long term, we need genuine effort. Are we actually trying to achieve our dreams, or are we just trying to check the box regarding our activity?
The eleventh commandment is “Thou shall not fool thyself.” We need to stop pretending that we are working towards our dreams when all we are doing is checking boxes. We must take an honest look at the effort we put in and ensure that we are doing the right activities. Today means that we have exactly six months left in the year. That may not be enough time to achieve our dreams, but if we do it right, it is enough time to get us on track to change our lives. Let’s concentrate on the basics to the best of our ability because that’s how we see our dreams come true.