“I say that’s life
And as funny as it may seem
Some people get their kicks
Stompin’ on your dreams…”
(From “That’s Life” as sung by Michael Buble, Frank Sinatra, et al.)
You’ve probably heard the term “dream stealer” before, right? This is a person, usually someone close to you like a family member, friend or co-worker, who tries to convince you to give up your dream for this or that reason.
We can’t really blame them, since they think they’re protecting us, looking out for our best interests. The fact is, they’re interpreting our dreams through their negative perspectives and seeing nothing but doom, gloom and failure. Certainly, THEY would never attempt to do anything as bold as what you’re planning to do – like improve your life by breaking out of the humdrum lot most people are satisfied to stay in.
What Do You Do To Protect Your Dreams From These People?
The obvious answer to that question is, you distance yourself from them as much as you can. You don’t allow their negativity to derail your positive thinking. And don’t talk to them about your plans, hopes and dreams.
As simple as that sounds, though, it might not be all that easy if they’re family members or close associates. Consider, this might be someone you’re MARRIED to! THEN what?
A Whole New Kind of Dream Stealer
I’ve discovered there’s a whole new category of dream stealer, one who tends to bury your positive thinking before you can even get your dream into full visualization. The person or people who seem to want to pile-drive you right into the ground when you’re just spreading your wings to fly. In short, they overwhelm you with negative energy – just when you get a positive charge going they come along and somehow ground it or short it out.
This is going to be a person who has a lot of influence over your daily life: a bad boss, for example, or worse yet, a spouse. I find myself presently under the influence of both of these people. Well, not just the boss but the whole management team where I work. Now, since my dream is precisely to get away from having to work for anyone ever again, I’m not going to let the job-related negativity stop me. It’s an irritant but in actuality, it strengthens my dream!
Then there’s the wife. Maybe you or someone you know has a similar problem? In my case, my wife is from another country and her dream has been (and apparently still is) to live and work in the USA long enough to be eligible for Social Security, something I just can’t see as a “dream” to me! It’s more like an endless nightmare I’m trying to get away from. I’ve spent too many years selling or renting myself to a job, even when I owned the business.
My dream is to make enough passive income to retire and live a comfortable life, preferably in another country: Mexico, Panama, Ecuador, whatever – someplace warm and cheap. So my wife’s dream and mine are going in opposite directions. Could I expect much support or encouragement from her in working toward my dream? I’d guess not.
I’m not saying she’s consciously trying to submarine my plans, my dreams and my efforts to get there but without her support and tolerance of all the hours I need to put into it, it’s not easy.
And what if I DO get to the point I can quit working for someone else and relocate and she doesn’t want to go? I suspect she thinks she can get me to change my plans to fit hers.
Anyway, with this conflict of future plans, it seems the more I try to get positive about it, the more negativity I get from her. Funny, isn’t it, how self-centered we all are in some way?
If you intend to Manifest your dream life, make sure those closest to you support your dreams and the effort you’re going to need to put into getting there. It will certainly make the trip go a lot faster and smoother! If they don’t, go back and read the third paragraph above.
Owen