The nation stopped singing ‘It’s coming home’ at just gone 9.30pm on Wednesday 11 July. The post-match analysis began. Yet what is it that was so great about the collective dreaming prior to that moment, despite the loss? It was the positivity and mood lift that it bred. People were genuinely in a good elevated mood. People came together, felt positive, inspired and looked to the future.
It’s not just football. Think back to when you were asked as a child what you wanted for Christmas. There’s every possibility you pushed the boundaries with your response.
We look at successful business people and consider that before they created a goal they would have had dreams.
Phil Knight didn’t just decide that he would create a global brand with Nike. He used to dream of having shops in various countries around the world selling the best running shoes. He partnered up with Bill Bowerman. Grit, determination and a lot of luck plus help aided him on his way. It started with a fantasy, it took hold, he stayed focussed and passionate and took that dream forward.
Ironically in business we need the goal, the goal that differentiates from a dream. The deadline, the specifics, the timely motion are all necessary elements to deliver on ones focus.
Dreams are the beginning. They are the fantasies, allowing the mind to escape to a good place. They allow the mind to get creative and think big. Let’s say the right side of the brain kicks in until the left logical side steps in.
We all consciously dream, whether we like to admit it or not. To dream is a good thing and it needs to be encouraged. To dream big is even better.
The importance of dreaming
Dreams can provide you with positive energy and help keep you going through hard times.
To dream you need to be able to hold on to a vision of something better than what you currently have. The winners are those who don’t give up regardless of when they gain their successes. In the words of Frank Sinatra, you need to be able to ‘Dust yourself off and start all over again’.
Dreams also help you define yourself as the type of person you’d want to be and keep you excited about life and possibilities.
Dream Big
In order to help make your dreams a reality, look up as if there’s a speech bubble and fill it with what you’d like to be doing or what you’d like to own right now. Sense the feelings you’d like to experience and the calmness or excitement you’d like to be a part of.
Don’t limit yourself. Push any of those inner voices aside. Tell them to go away. Nobody can hear your thoughts so you can be as bold and brash as you like.
If you find the Air Bubble doesn’t work, write down your ideas. Try mind mapping, bullet pointing, random jotting, whatever works for you.
I remember being told that the minute your dream becomes scary, that’s when it needs to be pushed a little further. If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough.
On the back of that I dreamt of organising an event to raise money for a local school whilst getting a residential block of 150 neighbours to know one another. Given the amount of events I’d previously organised this was no mean feat until the reality of having just four weeks, zero budget and no support kicked in. That was scary. Ultimately the scariest part was handing over the cheque in front of this huge assembly of children! I’d done it. I had not lost focus and I continued believing – dreaming.
This is your time to dream big.
Make it work
Marketing plays upon us dreaming. Most of the major organisations have turned many of our dreams into reality through advertising luring us in to believe their products will satisfy.
Unrealistic images yet for a 30 second advertisement or YouTube ad we can believe we can lose half our body weight in a year, or drive the fastest yet safest car.
The key aspect of us making a dream a reality is to visualise that dream coming true. It’s putting yourself in that place where you want to be at whatever point in time. You need to live it, breathe it and continue to think about it. Don’t let go of that focus.
From the dream you form the dream. You plan. You work from the dream and work backward to the now.
You may find that your dream is made up of lots of micro dreams. Tick them off and acknowledge your achievement.
Let’s face it, most didn’t believe England would get as far as they did yet they dreamed big. They got to the semi finals. They played well. That is worth acknowledging.
You don’t let go of a dream unless another dream takes precedence. And that’s perfectly fine too.
So whilst England didn’t win the World Cup at this 2018 tournament we cannot forget the positivity that was borne from the collective dream.
If you can dream for a team, a favourite tennis star, or a child at their sports day or for a company that’s creating a profit or reaching a new market, it is important to also dream for you.
Finally here’s to the Swedish Pop fans:
I have a dream, a song to sing
To help me cope with anything
If you see the wonder of a fairy tale
You can take the future even if you failAbba
