There’s always a tipping point for everyone. You get into a position where you’ve become uninspired, unmotivated and find yourself struggling to move forward in life.
Never fear, there are processes you can easily implement to get you back on track.
Mel Loh is a best mate of mine, who has been by my side for roughly a decade.
She is the perfect balance of geeky, ultra-smart and uber-cool – but that’s just my biased opinion. Since Mel was a young girl, she has always wanted to know what was just over the horizon. It’s from that curiosity that she was destined to follow a path towards building a better world for humanity’s technological, environmental and socio-economic infrastructure.
As magnificent as this all sounds, even the biggest dreamers can become stuck. On a hot and sweaty day, both she and I got chatting for an episode of the Lean In Podcast, where she brought to my attention the concept of redreaming.
Redreaming may seem like a foreign notion, but it’s actually really simple – and can become life-changing.
We all know the process of dreaming. It’s the thoughts in your head that you conjure up when you’re absentmindedly staring out the window. Usually, they’re something along the lines of, “I want to travel to India” or “I want a beautiful house.”
But the concept of redreaming occurs at multiple points in our lives. It comes to the forefront when we need to refuel our motivations, change things up and turn towards a life of more fulfilment.
Here are a few simple steps to incorporate within your own life when you reach that point.
Be Gentle With Yourself
Both Mel and I know the pressures of having to come up with the next big thing or idea. What follows is an overwhelming sense of doubt. A toxic process that is usually conjured up within our self-critical part of our brain.
“I would say to get your body first to a physical state of wellbeing and your mind and your spirit.” Mel explained, “So, get to a state of wellbeing to able to do the redreaming and have it come from a place of contentment and happiness rather than desperation.”
Take small steps, from ten minutes on the yoga mat to walking in nature. That way you can begin to open up and see the world through a clearer lens of positivity and creativity.
Start a Redreaming Journal
Redreaming means that you are changing the way things are to get to a place that better serves your inner wants. Sometimes when you’re entering into that space it might not look or feel like what you envisioned, but it may exceed it as well.
A perfect way to begin the redreaming process is to get your ideas out of your brain and into the physical world. Sitting down with a journal and writing down the answers to three key questions is the initial step to moving towards a better place in life.
Start with a blank piece of paper, and answer the questions:
- What do I want to be?
- What do I want to do?
- What do I want to have?
I’ve given myself the space to do this, and have found that the key is to get it all out and not worry about going a bit crazy. Think big, tap into your superficial spiritual and emotional side. An example might be, “I want to be a better human for this earth,” “I want to be a better person,” “I want to be a good mum” or just “I want to be happy and free.”
When you connect with the redreaming process, I would suggest that you keep an eye out for recurring patterns. Take note of what is and isn’t aligned with your current situation.
It’s worthwhile to do this as an annual practice as it can keep you in alignment. If see that things are starting to head off-kilter then you catch it sooner rather than later and adjust.
Nothing is Impossible
Okay, so you may be thinking that during the redreaming process you’ve come up with some pretty big ideas of what you want to get out of your life. It can be scary, intimidating, and possibly stop you from moving further in your quest to fulfil your new goals.
Yes, some things haven’t been done before or they’re an impossible mountain that you’re going to have to climb. But the initial stages are always the hardest part. It’s about really breaking through the resistance and stoking the fires of your passion once again so you can maintain the big vision to make the impossible possible and live the life you deserve.
