celebrate one of the greatest dreamers of our time — the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Public Domain)
Yay! It’s the first long weekend of 2014. A perfect time to sit back, put up your feet and think about what you want to do for the rest of the year.
Since Monday is the day we celebrate one of the greatest dreamers of our time — the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Think about this: Dr. King achieved what many thought was impossible because he never let go of his vision of a better world.
What more inspiration do you need to set your feet on a firm path to realizing your fondest dreams? Whether you’re 35 or 55, or beyond, 2014 can be the year you find true love, make a life-altering career move or finally write that novel, here are three secrets to turning your fantasy into reality.
1. Dream Big! Setting high expectations for yourself can actually help you perform tasks better. A study that looked at whether mindset influences physical and cognitive responses found that mind and body respond to positive, encouraging thoughts. Expectations, the researchers found, may even change the chemistry of the brain.
In other words, if you think that you are strong and creative, you will most likely be able to handle a tougher workout or come up with an innovative solution to a difficult problem. So, believe in yourself. It pays off.
2. Get Real. Come down out of that cloud for a moment and get serious about what you need to learn and acquire to make your dreams a reality. Visualizing what you want is great, but only if it gives you the energy to research, plan and act on your goals.
“Never skip a beat,” model-turned-mogul Tyra Banks advises.
Consider this advice: When asked how she conquered the fashion world and how other women could succeed, entrepreneur and supermodel Tyra Banks advised: “Take a moment to reflect. What do you need to work on? Were you too shy to speak up in a meeting? Did you let someone else steal your thunder? Write down each of those missed opportunities, and refer back to this list to make habit-changing goals! Reflect on that in the morning, and you’ll be on your way to making sure you never skip a beat again.”
3. Tell your BFF. Want to increase your chances of success by as much as 33 percent? Share your goals with a close friend. Motivation expert Gail Matthews, Ph.D., surveyed successful people to find out how they stuck to their goals. She found that they not only told close friends about their plans, but they also wrote down their “to do” lists and sent their buddies weekly updates.
About Fierce Fridays — Tips for Weekend Well-Being
We each cherish those precious days off at the end of the week, but increasingly those of us who are charter members of the sisterhood of the stressed and overworked are losing our Saturday and Sunday leisure time to weekend work and domestic duties.
To make sure that you do something every weekend that’s just for you, we’ll be sharing a little advice to make those 48 hours a great time to recharge your batteries, bring a little good news into your life, or discover a quick and easy way to improve your health.
