With so many college-aged students still unsure what to do with their lives, and even many adults who feel as if they're lost as well, it's often helpful to think back to a simpler time before the world told us to "get real". We all had dreams and fantastic notions as kids that many of us may have forgotten as we traded an active imagination for the real world. Here are some ways to keep those ideas from your youth alive:
1. Think about what you liked as a kid.
Look at the things you or your parents saved from when you were a kid. Writings, drawings, and other memorabilia can remind you of how you used to occupy your time and what you used to love doing. Remind yourself of the things you’d lose track of time while doing.
2. Think about things you still like now.
Recognize that people change and can change their minds. If you were obsessed with something as a kid but could care less about it now, let that dream go. For example, maybe you dreamed of becoming President one day, but by time you’re a 20-something following politics and government scandals, you decide someone else can have that terrible job. Reconcile the two, what you loved then and what you love now. You may not want to be POTUS, but you might still want to be in some kind of leadership position.
3. Think about what you’re good at.
Decide what your talents are. Look back at your time in middle school, high school, and college and figure out what subjects or courses you excelled in. Hobbies that you have a natural inclination for can be a good indicator of what you’re meant to be doing in life!
4. Make a list.
This may be a very adult thing to do, but it can definitely help translate fanciful wishes into something real. Don’t focus solely on what job fields you could enter, but also what an ideal life looks like for you, whether this be in the form of a career, family, property, location, etc. Additionally, don’t just list your dreams; create a strategy for how you’re going to achieve them. Stick to a timeline!
5. Even if your ideas seem impossible or fantastical, think about ways to incorporate them into reality.
Once you reach a certain age, you realize that the adventures you see on The Magic School Bus are not very realistic. While this is true, don’t let this fact stop your curiosity about the natural world. Find a way to translate your desire to travel through the human body to a successful career in nursing and medicine!
6. Accept the risk of failure, but don't let failure prevent you from pursuing your dream.
Know that you may go through life never accomplishing a certain goal, but don’t let this thought be a deterrent from following through with it. Decide what it is that your childhood self really wanted, and revise your goals as you go to make them something tangible and achievable.
7. Get a mentor and join an accepting community.
Surrounding yourself with inspirational people who remind you of your goals, support you, and track your progress is essential. This may come in the form of moving to a new city, finding someone who has the same dream as you, or getting someone to coach you on how to accomplish your dream. Make sure the people around you are a source of accountability for you to do what you say you will.
8. Start accomplishing small dreams and work your way up.
Don’t just have a single dream that you hinge your entire life existence on! Have small goals that you can work up from until you’re ready to tackle the big one. Small victories are extra motivation to make your big dream comes to fruition. Go to a theme park you always dreamed of, meet a favorite childhood author or actor, visit a city you always wanted to see, or talk to the person you had a crush on in school.
9. Begin to inspire the dreams of others.
By being successful, you can motivate others to fulfill their own childhood dreams. Just like you were mentored, you can offer to do the same for someone who shares the same dream you once had and pursued.
This last photo is from a 135-mile canoeing trip I took in Minnesota in 2013. Ever since I was young, I wanted to get to experience the world around me and what it had to offer. There was a moment when I almost didn't go on this trip due to money and safety concerns, and if not from someone inspiring me, I may not have gotten to experience such beauty in nature. Follow your childlike curiosity where it leads you, and don't be afraid to seize the opportunities you could have only dreamed about as a kid.
