This task is meant to encourage you to give a dream a lovely set of wings. All you have to do is speak it out loud. Tell someone – bonus points if you tell someone you don’t normally share these things with – about one of your dreams/wishes/passions/interests. Still not sure what those are? Go to your list. I told you you’d need that list!
For some of you, the hardest part might be deciding who to tell (your colleague, your sister, your neighbour). For others, the telling might be the most difficult part. Is it kind of weird to randomly say something like, “You know, I’ve always wanted to try flamenco dancing.”? Maybe. What might be better is to phrase it so that it’s a little easier to respond to. You don’t just want someone saying “Oh, that’s nice.” That’s kind of a conversation killer. You could say, “You know, I’ve always wanted to try flamenco dancing. I just need to figure out where to find a dance studio with certified teachers.”
I don’t know about you, but if someone said something like that to me, I’d probably rack my brain for suggestions for them. If I didn’t know about dance studios, I would try to refer them to people or resources that would.
If you’ve heard of Barbara Sher, this will sound familiar to you. She calls this the wish/obstacle technique of research; you propose a wish and then name your obstacle in attaining this wish. She suggests you do this when you are stumped in your path of following a dream because you’ve hit the wall of “lack of information.” I agree and I also say it’s an awesome tool because it sets so many things in motion – for you and for the conversation partner.
Here’s why I would suggest you do something that might seem so socially bizarre.
1) By having these words come out of your mouth, you are giving them some kind of validation. Your dream/wish/passion/interest becomes a little more real as soon as it hits a new medium.
2) Saying these words out loud to someone you don’t normally talk to about these things helps you step out of your comfort zone (though every cell in your body may be screaming at you “Why?!” it’s actually a good thing to do this – you never know what lies a tentative toe tap outside your security!)
3) By sharing this part of you with someone new you open yourself up to a new perspective – maybe what this person has to say in response will be completely unlike what your usual support network might say. You also never know where resources are “hidden”. You’d be surprised how many people “stumble upon” great leads or information by randomly blurting something out to strangers. Barbara Sher talks about this at length in her book, Live The Life You Love. She suggests doing this on a grander scale by throwing an Idea Party – essentially having 10-15 people over for a potluck (some friends plus their friends who you don’t know) and presenting the group with your wish/obstacle. I love this! I would totally do this!! Would you? Maybe start with this task and see how you feel about a party!
4) And then of course, there is what you do for others by doing something as crazy as this! Whether they want to or not, they will be forced to think about the concept of dreams/wishes/passions/interests…presumably theirs!
Want to run a dream/wish/passion/interest by me? Drop me a line! Or leave a comment below for everyone and see what transpires!
