6 Things I'm Doing To Acheive My Dreams

Whatever your dreams may be, you can't get there without setting and achieving goals, right? So what does that look like in real life? It's different for everyone depending on the stage of life you’re in and what your dreams are, but for me, it's disciplining myself to do these 5 simple things.

1.) Budgeting - How am I ever going to go for yoga teacher training (and other goals of mine) if I can't pay for it? My motto lately has been 'pay before you play.' My husband and I have a goal to pay off ALL of our debt within the year and doing everything we need to do to make that happen... it feels a bit daunting. However, after creating a budget and sticking to it—it’s now manageable (and actually possible!). We follow a zero-based-budget and it really keeps us on track. A zero based budget is where you delegate each dollar of your monthly income to a specific thing. No penny is without a place! For example, out of my pay check, $400 is marching straight to groceries, $200 is racing over to fill up the gas tank, $50 to toiletries, $600 to my debt and so on and so forth.

Of course, before you know how much needs to go where, you need to know how much you have been spending there in the first place. Time to open up the online banking and do some tracking my friends! If you have any questions about the budgeting system that we use, I would be happy to share more on this. It's truly life changing (and goal-slaying!)

2.) Food Prep - Yes, prepping food every week is helping me achieve my dreams. Do you know how much money we have spent on eating out? Ugh, and we're not even 'that bad.' I'm not even talking about the fancy restaurants - even the unassuming Timmy Ho's can make a dent in your wallet. I challenge you to take out a piece of paper and write down how many times you ate out last month (including coffees and teas),and add up the numbers. Take that number and think of ways that money can fuel your dreams rather than your coffee habit—don't worry, your French press and chic travel mug has you covered on this one! Another reason food prep is helping me achieve my dreams is that it's a huge factor in creating balance, routine and healthy eating habits. For me, cultivating a sense of well-being is an important part of fuelling my dreams.

*My secret for saving big at the coffee shop: Bring your own tea bag and/or instant coffee packet with you. You get all the ambiance and comfort of your fave coffee shop and the only money you spent was the gas to get you there—better yet, ride your bike if the weather’s in your favour.

3.) Being Thankful - I make a conscious effort to be grateful for what I have in my life right now. Nothing squashes my dream planning and goal-getting faster than feeling upset that I'm not where I 'should be.' Where really, should I be in life? This is the beauty of free will—I don't have any higher obligation than to love God, others and myself. You decide what dreams you want to go after and the rest is a journey, so be grateful for your life and enjoy the ride! I want to have fun and feel like I'm enough just as I am. Believe it or not, this takes daily mindfulness, self-love and practice.

*I challenge you to say one nice thing about yourself right now in this moment and think of 3 positive things in your life at this moment, even without having achieved your dreams yet. It can be as simple as "I'm healthy and I have clean water to drink." Believe it or not, this is major. Lucky you!

4.) Alone Time - I need time in complete recluse where I can cultivate my thoughts, ideas, dreams, goals and opinions. I can't do this amidst the mass amounts of information, opinions, and noise all directed AT ME thanks to smart and savvy marketing, bloggers, influencers and social media strategy. I need time to pick up a real pen or paintbrush and put it to a beautifully blank page and fill it with my own stuff. I need time to go for a walk sans-technology or read a book where I have to turn the pages rather than scroll 3 hours of my life away. I need time to do yoga, hike, and move my body—preferably in nature! In short: I need time to disconnect with the world and connect with myself.

5.) Putting Myself 'Out There’ AKA Building a Like-Minded Community - As much as I need alone time, I also want to connect with like-minded people in my community. We all have some form of community whether it's already well established or just taking shape. If yours is already well established, you still need to invest in your friends and family to keep it healthy. If you’re in my situation, I have to put considerable effort in reaching out and actively looking for like-minded people to connect with. After moving from Vancouver Island (where I grew up) to Vancouver, my new community is growing, s l o w l y but surely. I am finding myself having to be very vulnerable and it's not the most comfortable thing. Inviting perfect strangers on hikes with me is becoming a 'normal' thing and sometimes it's awkward but I've accepted that! There's always the chance people will turn you down or there won't be a good connection but this is OK! For every person that turns you down, or is too busy, popular, or just the wrong fit for you, there will be a gemstone of a friend waiting behind them. Keep mining for your friends, they will make you rich! (Both figuratively and literally... Friends can sometimes refer you to your dream job!) It's all in who you know…and who they know! And helping each other along the way.