Are you coasting along in a job? Perhaps you are in a relationship held together by fear rather than enduring love or passion. Or maybe you feel like you are studying the wrong subject and want to start again. Whatever it is, you may feel that your dreams are a long way away, and you may give up because you don’t think you can achieve them.

But you were wrong; most of us get sidetracked on the way to achieving what we want in life because we are bogged down in the day-to-day tasks of life, and we lose sight of who we are, what we’re working for, and what we actually want in the first place. Our dreams become harder to find, and we lose the courage to achieve them, and slowly it diminishes.

“Making your dreams a reality” may seem to be a daunting phrase, but the definition simply means “to turn your aspirations into reality.” And to do that simply means to “keep them in perspective” and “remember what inspired you” to want them in the first place.

If you have forgotten who you are, and where you want to head, use these 4 essentials steps to go from Dreaming to Doing

1)   Where you are now: Be open and honest and admit some difficult truths about where you are now. You may be stuck in an unhappy marriage, muddling through a boring job without direction, or even struggling with self-limiting beliefs about yourself. No matter how far you are from your ideal life, you’ll begin to see a change when you look at where you are now. Rather than believing where you are right now is your final destination, it’ll become the start of the line to where you want to go.

2)   What you want to achieve. Consider what achieving them actually looks like but do not let your specificity limit your dreams. Nor should you let limiting beliefs stop you from dreaming. Just because it’s difficult to achieve doesn’t mean it’s impossible. When you begin to name and specify your dreams, it opens up a new horizon for you. Rather than feeling stuck and hopeless, you can see a new life ahead full of purpose and inspiration.

3)   Where you want to be: Focus on your goals and ask yourself if this dream is something that will last or something that will matter in 10 years. Many ambitions fade and seem meaningless in the distant future. Ask yourself if the dreams help other people or were it all about you. If later, it is fine, but it will lack the depth of depth that comes with improving the lives of others. Generally, our deepest sense of fulfillment will come from the act of service to others. Consider what you want to be remembered for or what kind of legacy you want to leave. Finally, consider if this is possible and feasible.

4)   What you need to get there: Once you have narrowed down your dreams, you must take Action. You can’t keep dreaming forever. The first step towards the journey will always be very difficult and discouraging, but you need to be audacious and persistent when exploring the opportunities. Sometimes it means asking for help from someone who has been where you want to go. At times you may get a rejection, but don’t be discouraged. Only through persistence and the right mindset, will it be paid off.

To learn to dream again, we need to get acquainted with ourselves and what motivates us on a deep level. You’ll have to look at your life’s honesty and clarity before you can move on to better things. If you want to move forward, you need to know where you are moving from and how to move it forward.

“A dream without a plan is just a wish, and a plan without a dream is just a task.“