10 Steps to Reach Your Dream In the Midst of ‘Eh’

You know when you have arrived at the ‘eh’ stage of a season. You are unmotivated, you don’t care about much, and you would be happy just hiding away with ice cream and binge-watching your favorite shows. When you are in this cycle, how and why should you dream or have a vision for the next? It seems to be good enough, right?

Wrong! We are created to dream, to have a vision, to have a passion, and to hope.
We were not meant to sit in seclusion just getting by. Perhaps you struggled with ‘eh’ even before the last two years, but truth be told, Covid has made this so easy to settle into the rut for many. We may give up on the things we once held dear because we don’t see them happening anytime soon. However, even if our dreams may look different in this season, it is important to walk them out nonetheless.

Let us not confuse comfortable and cozy with pure lazy and depressed. When we are unmotivated and secure in hiding, there is a problem. The enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy. If you are kept in seclusion and ‘eh’ mode, walking in depression, the enemy has won.

I know the fear and anxiety is real. I know depression is real, and I know the difficulty that it is to climb out and live. This is not an easy time in our lives, and so much is unsettled. I am all for support medically for our mental health as needed. I am also all about pulling up the bootstraps and getting to it.

Technology today truly does remind me of the movie ‘Wall-E’, where everyone is sitting in chairs with the food at the ready and their face in a screen, oblivious to what is going on around them. I am so guilty of walking in this myself. However, this isolation is a tactic of the enemy. It seems entertaining at the moment, but leaves us craving for more, and further disconnected from our dreams and passion.
To have life to the FULL we must walk in hope. Hope is to have a feeling of expectation.
Knowing that there IS a fullness of life. We have a call, with gifts, and desires. We are not meant to keep to ourselves, that which may inspire others.
Now that you are in the midst of “eh”, you might say, ” It is too hard to get started? It seems too much time has passed by.”
Let me give you some tips on how to dream in the midst of your “eh’. These very steps led me to live out my next. This is my strongest hope for you.

10 Steps to Reach Your Dream in the midst of ‘Eh’

1. Write down your goals and dreams that you let go dormant. If you don’t want to look at those at this point, write down some new ones. What sparks you?
   
2. Write down 3 manageable steps to move closer to those successes that you hope for. This could be research that needs to be done, people you need to contact, or actions you can take to build your gift.
   
3. Research other people that have succeeded in your area of passion. Even just watching an art video will spark me to get my art supplies out.
   
4. Get out of the house. A walk in the park, visiting nature, or serving in your community in some way does wonders for the soul.
   
5. Recognize that there are failures and rejections in the process. We don’t always hit our dream the moment we visualize it. There is HARD work involved. Michael Jordan did not even make his high school basketball team, after being rejected he worked HARD. Often we give up thinking we failed or have no potential when in reality, we just need to work harder.
   
6. Knowing it is not all about you. Sow into other people that have similiar interests that you have. For example, if you are a photographer and building your brand, do pictures for upcoming models or families that can’t afford pictures. Or join in a nature walk with other photographers. It builds your portfolio, your community, and your reach. You don’t need to invest all your time in these ways, but when you have hit the wall, serving others sparks greatness! I have seen it many times in my own life.
   
7. Be okay with the uncomfortable. When you are stretching into new territory, it can be uncomfortable. Growing in our dreams and visions is not easy. Sometimes it takes commitment when we have yet to see anything come out of our hard work. You may need to knock on doors that you would rather just sit by quietly, hoping and praying they will open. Again, you may get rejected. Nobody said reaching your dreams would be comfortable. We often want to see ourselves where others are, but don’t think about all the work, effort, and stretching of themselves that it took for them to get there.
   
8. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else’s journey. I was horrible at comparing where I was at in my process compared to other people. This is a dream killer! I am not called to walk the same road as another. I am not called to have the same dream as another. My journey will be different. The minute we can be okay with that, we gain freedom.
   
9. Ask for help. If you are in a place of no motivation, insecurity, lack of skills or any other walls in your way ask someone to be a mentor. You may have better success for a yes when you ask, if you offer to trade work, time, or payment for a mentor’s efforts. Keep in mind also, that you will have the opportunity to one day be a mentor in the same capacity that is poured out to you.
   
10. Get to it! It is so easy to sit and think, think think. But if you don’t take action, that is all it will become, just thinking. Vision without action is only daydreaming. You need to move forward if you want to reach the dream implanted in your soul.

I ask you to look at all the hopes, dreams, and visions, that you have let die. Not to condemn but to say, “do you want to let another dream pass you by?”
10 years from now, do you want to be where you are at right now? How many people missed the spark, because you didn’t let yourself shine?
If you are living the dream I am so happy for you. But if you have dreams yet fulfilled, there is no time, like this time.

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“Time To Shine With Shaey Anthony”

Beyond the Limits​

Definition of Limit: a point or level beyond which something does not or may not extend or pass. Synonyms: restrict, curb, check, place a limit on, cap, keep within bounds, hold in check, restrain, put a brake on, hold, or freeze.

We all have done it. We have all dreamed of something big and so far beyond our reach. However, many like myself, first see the limits and often won’t pursue farther than the dream. I have had seasons where it hasn’t mattered if the limit was imagined or real. I would just stand frozen, looking at the desire of my heart and not know how to pursue it. I look at every angle and then get perplexed on what in the world to do.

Other’s will pursue wholeheartedly their life, dreams, and ambitions, but then stop as limits rise up against them. They had momentum for a season, but the wall rose up and they stand immobile, not sure how to move beyond that limit in front of them.

Then there are those victors. Those people that seem unstoppable. Everything they put their hand to is golden and all falls into place for them. Or does it?  I believe most beyond the limit people, are just that, they live beyond their limits. They have things that rise up, they have things in their way, they have things that could hold them back, but they have learned how to move forward, taking steps into the further and pushing on harder, not because of those limits but in spite of them.

I want to be one that propels forward with expectation and boldness. But first I had to identify those limits that were restricting me, that kept me within my bounds, and held me frozen. I had to identify not only limits for my own self but for others as well that may rise up in the face of pursuit. I am sure that I will not cover all that everyone would face, but recognizing the vast walls before us is key to overcoming and moving beyond the limits that hold us back.

Moving beyond the limits we place on ourselves:

1. Qualification:  This is the biggest struggle I personally have faced over the years. I never felt qualified or validated to finish my pursuits. I would start something, and see my failures more than possibilities. Let’s face it unless one is touched by the divine, and everything they do is perfect, most have to work for what we want to become, or accomplish. It takes hard work and faithfulness. I finally have learned that we are often called to do that which we are not qualified for. It is in the faithfulness, living beyond what we see, and honing our craft/skill, that shines far beyond what we lay down unfinished by giving up and staying frozen out of lack of discipline.

2. Opinions or lack of support: Often we look to other’s approval to validate that what we have to contribute is valuable. When other’s mock us, ignore us or roll their eyes when we share our vision, we can feel like what we have to put out there has no worth. It is very important to know who is your true supporters, and believe it or not, your support may not come from your closest circles. You see, many people in our lives, don’t see the hard work behind the scenes that we are putting in. They may only see where we have been, not where we are going. They have preconceived notions about our ability and our reach. This is not always the case, but if you share your heart and others are not supportive or even silent, perhaps you should hold your treasure a little closer to your heart, and protect it. Pursue, strengthen and equip. Show those that doubt that you are able and move beyond their limits. You see they can not support that which they can not visualize themselves.

3. Pride: Society has us constantly aware of how we are perceived. Nobody wants to appear foolish, unqualified, unsupported or exposed. So many times, I have stepped away from my passion because I have not been able to do what other’s expectations of me were. I walked in embarrassment, rather than the truth of my calling. Going live was one of my biggest challenges. I have such a low opinion of myself at times, that seeing those lives have left me embarrassed, even though I know personally others have been encouraged. If I let pride and vanity stand in the way of my calling, I am never going to reach my destination meant for me.

4. Fear: There are so many ways fear can limit us in pursuing that on our heart. Fear of failure, fear of time wasted, fear of unknowns, and fear of others, etc. You name it, there is probably a fear in the face of it. I have found one of the best ways to move beyond fear, is to identify it, and walk through it. Fear often only holds us back, because real or perceived, we allow it to. Think of every fear you have had that you have overcome. What did it take to overcome that fear? For me, it was action. It was the doing, no matter what. It was stepping out of what was safe and comfortable and saying, I will move beyond this limit. It will not hold me. Fear will not be the force that keeps me from the plan for my life.

5. Time: This is such a trial in the pursuit of callings and dreams. Because the truth is, we all face a certain amount of hours every day, and we all have responsibilities within those hours. However, when you have a passion and a dream, you must etch out some time to hone the skills, and pursue that dream. Otherwise, like me, 20 years later, I am still looking at the undone. I put the kids first, which was great, it was my season, I put the church first which is great it was my season, I put so many things first and in the seasons that is okay. But looking back, I could have definitely etched some time in to pursue things that would lay a foundation for my now. If you have it on your heart to write, but there is just no time, record your musings and thoughts on a voice memo on your phone when you are doing other tasks. Keep those thoughts on record for a day, when you have more time to actually write it all down. Think of that which you truly want, and seek where you may be letting time be wasted, or how can your time be extended in a day. Yes, time can be a limit, but only if we don’t see the possibilities of conquering. Sometimes it is just an evaluation of how your days are being spent.

6. Finances: Money or lack of, can be a very real challenge in living beyond the limits. We were a one income family most of our marriage and with 3 little ones and no health insurance for most of those days and a one year lay off where we lost everything, I can honestly say that finances were definitely a limit I put on myself. However, I am seeing the older I get, how those limits sometimes are also a mindset. I wanted to paint for years, but good quality canvas and paint is expensive, well while learning, I could have used cardboard, cheaper materials and practiced away.
I get it sometimes it is hard to even put bread on the table, and when our mind is around survival it can be hard to dream. BUT… there are resources. Get creative. Barter, research, visit a library, free education online, my unemployment offices have resources for learning and possibly ask to apprentice with someone skilled in your passions. I know many people that have had dreams with little finances and completely self-educated their passion and pursued to full success.  If something is burning in you to be accomplished, do not allow finances to hold you back. Become creative in the pursuit of living beyond the limit.

7. Physical: I know this one well. I have physical limits. However, I have been looking at so many others that live beyond their limit physically and are extremely successful. Sometimes when we have limits with our bodies or situations, we need to become creative. Just because something is in our way physically does not mean we can let it limit us and keep us frozen. It is just a new challenge to see how we can move beyond what we face and overcome those obstacles. I think of those I have seen with far more physical limitations than myself, rise above and do so much. Not only are they pursuing and conquering their dreams and passions, but they are true inspirations to others like myself, that get tempted to give up and just coast in life. I don’t want to be one that just gets by in this life any longer, but I want to thrive and bring others along with me.

Ultimately the dreams and passions within our hearts are for the taking. We just have to overcome and live beyond the limits placed on ourselves. This is how true victors become victorious. They do not let their limits get in their way.