At a recent speaking engagement I attended in Toronto, Dr. Greg Wells, trainer to Olympians and famous author of the revolutionary book Superbodies (http://www.amazon.com/Superbodies-Performance-Secrets-Athletes-Hardcover/dp/1443405930), shared the importance of something he called “Dream-Setting” with the attendees. Dr. Wells considered “Dream-Setting” more important than goal-setting, when it came to achievement. It resonated with me because I talk a lot about the difference between making a wish and setting a goal.
Dream-Setting is the act of clearly defining a dream. Only after you’ve defined your dream does the goal-setting process begin. You build goals around your dream, something I’ve written about at great length. This is such an important distinction and I was glad to find out that I was not the only personal development expert in the world who understood that dreams and goals were not the same thing.
Dreams represent a vision of some future, ideal state or reality. Dreams are the springboard for goals. You can’t achieve goals that are actually dreams in disguise. Most who set goals, mistake a dream for a goal, and that is why most fail to achieve their goals. For example, making an additional $100,000 a year is a dream, not a goal. Becoming an Olympic athlete is a dream, not a goal. Owning a house on the beach is a dream, not a goal (unless you have the money already).
Goals represent tasks which are action steps that are 100% achievable. You pursue goals only after you have clearly defined your dream. You must Dream-Set first before you Goal-Set. When personal development experts tell you to set big goals they are setting you up for failure because big goals are actually dreams. There is no such thing as a big goal. When the word “big” is attached to the word goal, it’s a dream. You can’t achieve a dream. You can only realize a dream after you have successfully achieved the goals that make dreams a reality.
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