Are you ready to dream big this year? To create the unimaginable and live a life beyond your wildest dreams? Why do we even need to dream big?

Here at Wholehearted Coaching, we believe our dreams have the power to change society, our communities, and even the future. And I’m here to help you bring your deepest desires and audacious dreams to the light, love.

Throughout this month, we've been talking about setting goals and overcoming the fear that can hold us back from pursuing our dreams.

But now, it's time to take the next step and dream big!

Because love, the magic is in the audacious dreams.

I believe that each and every one of us has a dream within us that, when brought to life, can have a huge ripple effect on the world. My mission is to help you uncover your deepest desires and create a plan to bring them to life.

So, let's make 2024 the year of big dreams. Ok, love?

Together, let's create a future that is beyond what we ever thought possible. Let's dream audaciously and make it a reality.

Are you ready? Let's go!

As a life coach, I have had the privilege of working with countless individuals who come to me with their dreams and aspirations. And while each person I work with is unique and special in their own way, I've noticed a common thread among many of the dreams I've heard - they tend to be "practical dreams."

But what exactly are "practical dreams"?

Essentially, they are dreams that are limited within this box of what we believe is actually possible for us. They are the dreams that we know we can achieve, the dreams that society tells us are possible for us, and the dreams that we see others around us striving for.

And practical dreams aren’t necessarily a bad thing. No, they’re actually pretty necessary. Practical dreams are the ones that show us that things actually are possible. They’re like the training wheels of dreaming.

But here's the thing - practical dreams are not the big, bold, and incredible dreams that are deep within our hearts. They are not the dreams that truly set our souls on fire and make our hearts race with excitement. They are not the dreams that push us to be our best selves and reach our full potential. So here’s my solution:

Start creating Audacious Dreams

Audacious dreams are the dreams that move beyond the limiting boxes we've put ourselves in. They are limitless, they're huge, and they're the type of dreams that truly scare us. They are the dreams that actually make us think "there's no way I could do that."

Audacious dreams exist in the space of our wildest imagination. They are the dreams that we might have had as a child, when the world was a canvas of endless possibilities and anything seemed possible.

When we think back to our childhood and our relationship with dreams and imagination, we tend to remember that sense of expansiveness. We remember how fun, open, and limitless it was to dream and imagine. We remember how we allowed ourselves to dream of one thing one day and switch it up the next. We could be an astronaut one day, a veterinarian the next, and an astronaut who is a veterinarian the day after! Love, there was no cap on our dreams as children. There was no shame, no talking ourselves out of it. We just allowed ourselves to be in this space of imagination, of free and limitless imagination.

THIS is what I'm talking about when I talk about dreaming.

Audacious dreams are the type of dreams that push us to think beyond what we believe is possible. They are the dreams that remind us of our childlike sense of wonder and possibility, the dreams that inspire us to be our best selves and reach our full potential.

So let's dare to dream big, let's dare to be audacious, let's dare to imagine the impossible!

Now I think of a dream as a state of being and not a place to arrive at.

We get so caught up in whether the dream comes true or falls away when its purpose is to change the circuit of life.

When we can feel a dream moving through, it expands us. So really any dream will do.

It is the dreaming that is essential. Not its imagined real estate, but the places it lights along the way.

-Mark Nepo

When we're young, we allow ourselves to dream big and let our imagination run wild. But as we get older, we start to attach ourselves to our dreams and they become much more practical. We tend to just dream of things that we know are possible and within reach for us.

But in doing so, we lose sight of the true purpose of dreaming.

Dreams aren't meant to come true.

They are meant to inspire us, to give us momentum, and to make us feel alive. Dreaming is what gives us the motivation and drive to chase our goals and aspirations.

When we were children, dreaming was a source of excitement and anticipation. We dreamed of birthday mornings, the last day of school, and the endless possibilities of the summer ahead. It was a feeling of fun and openness.

Dreaming as an adult is no different. It’s time to allow yourself to dream big again, to let your imagination run wild, and to feel the excitement and anticipation that comes with it. Don't be limited by practicality!

Let your dreams inspire you and give you the momentum to chase your aspirations. Remember, the purpose of dreaming is not about making your dreams come true, but about how it makes you feel.

Why we stop ourselves from dreaming big

We have to become obsessed with how dreaming makes us feel instead of becoming obsessed with our dreams coming true. And I get how hard this can be. Dreaming is an absolutely vulnerable thing. It is so damn scary to actually admit to ourselves something that we deeply desire.

Dreams are scary because it's all about you. It’s all about your needs, your wants, and your desires. This is why it's so much easier to help other people's dreams come true as opposed to our own. If we actually speak this dream to ourselves, if we speak this dream into existence and it doesn't happen, that is so crushing. It feels as if we’ve failed ourselves.

Dreaming requires us to hope again. Dreaming requires us to trust in things that are beyond our control. Dreaming is hard for each one of us on some level because we’ve experience pain, hardship, and loss. Each of these plays into why we hold ourselves back from dreaming.

It’s like that guy you had a crush on and the eighth grade, right? Well, since he never went out with you, why would you want to dream like that again?

Bell Hook says…

What we cannot imagine, cannot come into being.

Although we have felt let down by our dreams not coming true in the past, it is actually our dream space that allows us to tap into our deepest and wildest imagination. This is the imagination that goes beyond what everyone else has told you that you should do or are supposed to do.

We have to allow ourselves to imagine if we want to create different, if we want to create change, and if we want to have more.

Who gets to dream?

Dreaming is a powerful tool, one that allows us to imagine a better future and believe in the possibility of change. But for many of us, especially those of us who have experienced trauma or come from marginalized cultures, dreaming can be difficult. This is because we have never been given the privilege to dream.

Our society is shaped by systems of oppression that make it clear who has the privilege to dream and believe. We see successful individuals, often privileged themselves, achieving incredible things and reaching for the stars, while others are left behind.

But this doesn't mean that we can't dream or that we don't have access to this privilege. It simply means that we need to name it and acknowledge it. Recognizing that our dreams may be limited by our experiences and circumstances is the first step to changing that. By allowing ourselves to dream bigger, we can change not only our own lives, but also our communities, society, and the world.

That’s why dreaming is so important, love. I want us to dream so that we can create a future rooted far outside the confines of the boxes that we have been given.

An Exercise to Help you Start Dreaming Again

I want to share with you one of my favorite exercises to help you slowly return to that expansive dream space. It's called "Wouldn't it be Nice?"

This exercise is simple: you set a timer for three to five minutes and start with the sentence "Wouldn't it be nice."

You begin with small things, small desires, such as:

• Wouldn't it be nice if I went for a walk today?

• Wouldn't it be nice if I made a really delicious dinner tonight?

Then, you start to get more expansive.

• Wouldn't it be nice if I took an entire month off this summer?

• Wouldn't it be nice if I worked remotely in Thailand?

• Wouldn't it be nice if I got a book deal from a major publisher?

As you continue the exercise, you start to go bigger and bigger, and once you finish the three to five minutes, take a moment and reflect on what you've written or said. You might be surprised by some of the things you've named, things that you've never considered before.

How did it feel to do this exercise? What felt scary? What felt easy?

This exercise is not about making it happen, it's simply an invitation.

It's a reminder that dreaming is possible and that we all have the ability to imagine and believe in a better future.

I really encourage you to practice this mindset exercise every day this week.

Really intentionally do it. I'm telling you, this exercise is going to really strengthen that imagination muscle and highlight for you dreams that you never knew you had. It also helps by just allowing yourself to say things that you actually want.

When I do a “Wouldn’t it be nice…” I don’t care if it really comes true, but wouldn’t it be cool?

Allowing ourselves to not be so attached and identified with those dreams that we name and put into the world. Remember:

Dreaming is not about getting there. It's the fuel that takes us somewhere.

So this year, if we allow ourselves to dream in this way, it's going to take us somewhere that we could have never imagined. It's going to take us somewhere that is beyond our expectations. It is going to take us somewhere that will definitely surprise us.

Tune into this week’s podcast episode — 178 | How to Dream Audaciously! [Best of WHC] — to hear the full behind-the-scenes look at an actual Wholehearted Coaching session.

If you enjoyed this, you’ll love the rest of this goals-focused series:

174 | Setting Goals for What You Really Want [Best of WHC] : It’s a new year, love! And you know what that means: a new set of goals to go after. It’s also a time where you may start to feel some guilt and shame around what you didn’t do last year. Maybe you’re wondering how to set goals and actually achieve them. Well, that’s exactly what we’re talking about today.

175 | The 1 Word that Keeps us from our Biggest Goals [Best of WHC]: What stops you from achieving your biggest goals? Today, we’re going to talk about the one word that stops us from achieving our goals. It’s the 1 word I no longer use when it comes to my biggest goals and my wildest dreams. Then, I’m going to show you the antidote to help you get back to those initial feelings to fuel your way so you can actually go after those big, wild dreams.

176 | A better way to set goals (and achieve them) [Best of WHC]: Are you tired of setting big goals and not achieving them? In this episode, I want to share with you the ultimate game changer that will teach you the 2 most important elements of setting goals for your biggest dreams and actually achieving them.

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About your host, Shirin Eskandani