Whenever you step out from the norm, and declare (even if only to yourself) that you believe that you have a special purpose in life, and that you are going to do whatever it takes to achieve it, you will attract naysayers. Some of them may even be people who are close to you, but you can’t let that stop you from going after what you value. These tips will help you when the resistance from naysayers gets difficult:
1. Clearly Define the Dream
The more clearly you can articulate what you want, the better you’ll stick to it in the face of resistance. Get down to specifics. What does the dream specifically look like? How will you know when you have achieved it? Define this!
2. Understand Why You’re Doing It
Why does this dream matter? There is no right answer to this question. The important thing is just that you can answer it, and that your answer excites you and moves you to action. The more compelling the reasons are that you want to achieve your dream, the stronger your resolve will be to continue.
3. Fight Your Inner Naysayer
You might be your own worst naysayer. Our ‘inner naysayer’ is that voice that tells us that we can’t do it: we aren’t smart enough, we aren’t rich enough, we aren’t lucky enough, we don’t know the right people, etc., to be able to pull off our unique vision. Don’t listen! Substitute your inner naysayer with an empowering voice.
4. Surround Yourself with Positive People
You will largely become who you surround yourself with. If you only associate with negative people, you’ll likely be a negative person as well. If you surround yourself with people who are going after their dreams, overcoming their fears and developing their talents, you will do the same.
5. Take Risks
Nothing great can be gained if you aren’t willing to take risks. Risk isn’t something to avoid, in fact it can’t be avoided. Even a ‘safe’ job has risks. What is safe about it? There is more to life than just money. There is fulfillment and engagement. A lot of time the safe jobs don’t have fulfillment. Learn to embrace and enjoy taking risks.
6. Be Willing to Fail
Failure doesn’t exist. There is no such thing as failure, there are only results. If you don’t get the result that you want from the actions that you take then take new action, it is that simple. Get over the fear of failure. Get out and fail quickly and often so that you can correct your mistakes and make progress.
7. Stop Talking About Your Plan
Excessive planning is a form of resistance. Action is far more important that plans. 99.9% of every plan ends up getting changed along the way, so don’t get hung up on having the perfect plan before you start. Take action. Start right away, and adjust your plans as you go. As long as you know what you want, you will move in the right direction.
8. Take Daily Action Towards What You Want
Action shouldn’t be sporadic. There is power in habits. It is the “compounding effect” that Success Magazine editor Darren Hardy has written about. Daily action, sustained over time has a compounding effect.
9. Anticipate Resistance, It is Inevitable
You will not accomplish your dreams without a fight. Resistance and obstacles are inevitable, so don’t freak out when they happen. They will happen. Get over it and keep moving. One day at a time.
10. Be Spartan-like
Take a page from the Spartan handbook: self-discipline, austerity, courage. Expect more of yourself than anyone else could possibly expect from you, and then back it up with actions, every single day. That is the path to achieving your dreams.
