爱思英语编者按：梦想是指路的航灯，有了它才有了抵达彼岸的成功。有时生活中的惊涛会让我们迷失方向，心怀梦想，才能坚定不移地抵达彼岸。告诉自己，有梦想就要去追！

How to Make Your Dreams a Reality

Are you a dreamer? What are your dreams? Are they small, or are they much larger and more complex? Do you feel they have value?

“All men of action are dreamers.” – James Huneker

The dreams that you have are there for a reason: to be realized as a part of fulfilling your life purpose. If you are still trying to find your passions and purpose, you might want to start with Leo Babauta’s article on how to find your passion.

Many people have trouble seeing the potential of their dreams; they give up on them because they don’t see how they will ever come true. They just can’t see how taking the time to discover and to plan will have any impact on the dreams coming true. Have patience! Although your dream may not have come to pass yet, it can still be realized. You can still make your dreams a reality.

While you can’t force dreams to happen, you can take steps toward actualizing them. Maybe you want to travel to a specific place. Do you know anything about the culture and language there? Are you saving money each week or month toward your trip? You won’t magically arrive there. You must plan and work toward what you want. Start with a trip to the library to find some books on the culture. Next look into a class to learn the language, make sure you have a savings account with an automatic deposit.

The same is true if you want to have a family, write a successful book, help others, move to another state, or anything else that interests you. Even if you try and fail, keep trying, take small simple steps forward. Your dreams have value; keep moving toward them, even if you face setbacks and challenges. Moving forward with your dreams means starting with the first step, here is an article that explains how to take the first step.

Visualizing and Planning for Your Dreams

In addition to physically working to make your dreams a reality, mental preparation is important. That means you need to keep visualizing and dreaming. I highly recommend spending time using guided meditation and Zen meditation to allow you to focus more precisely on your plan.

Hold on to what you believe in and what you want to see happen in your life. Use the power of positive thinking in order to see your dream coming to fruition.

Try these techniques:

 * Make a vision board where you can pin or glue symbols of what you want to see realized. (so much fun!) I still have my vision board from 2008, it still holds true today.

 * Write down your dreams to keep them fresh in your mind. I have a dream journal that I have specifically created for each of my major dreams.

 * Keep a journal of what you’ve done toward realizing your dreams each day or each week.

 * Remember to enjoy and respect the present moment. Then you’ll be well practiced when your dreams do come to pass!

 * Talk with others who share your goals and dreams to stay encouraged and excited. Every time I share my dreams, people get excited and want to join in, keep that level of passion for your dreams.

Many successful people focus on positive affirmations and meditation to help make their dreams a reality. By meditating on what you really want and how you’re going to get it, you may come up with solutions that you would otherwise not have thought about. Meditation gives your mind some quiet, peaceful time to work behind the scenes. You can create a recording for yourself that walks you through your vision of your completed dream so that you can really focus on the positive outcome.

Positive affirmations also help keep your spirits up and keep you moving toward your goal, even when you don’t really see a way. Just because the way to your dream doesn’t seem obvious to you just now, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way. Something could change in the blink of an eye. Suddenly, you’ll be able to see how and when your dream will be realized. Create your affirmations around the positive amazing feelings that surround your dreams, so that you can keep your vibes high and you can let the “how’s” go and allow the universe to take care of that for you.

If you hold tight to your goals, you’ll find it easier to stay on the right track. Training yourself to observe progress can be important, too. This will help keep you motivated. Regardless of what your dreams are – however big or small they may be — you can usher them in to your life!

Simple small steps every day, moving toward your dreams will get there. Enjoy the journey!