Same Goals this Year as Last? Learn How to Reignite Your Dream

In a few weeks, I’ll be presenting the topic of ‘Hope’ to those in long-term job search. Long-term job search, just as with many of our dreams, can feel daunting at times. It can become discouraging and eventually hopeless. That hopelessness then turns into apathy towards our goals and the eventual abandonment of them. Whether you are searching for a job, new career, your purpose, a loving partner or an exciting and joy-filled life, learning how to use hope can help you achieve your goals!

So what is this hope thing anyways and why does it matter? Hope is the belief in possibility of the fruition of our goals. If we believe we can’t, we won’t. If we believe we can, we maintain some sort of action towards the finish line. For example, let’s say there are two envelopes lying at the front of a room full of 30 people (you are one of these people!). One envelope gives you the opportunity to become the proud owner of $1,000; only one person can win the contents. The other envelope contains $30 and will be split up between those that choose it i.e. everyone will receive something. Choose your envelope.

Answer these questions.

Which envelope did you choose?

Why did you choose it?

What did you believe about your ability to win, about your worthiness to win, about your need versus others’ needs?

What feeling did these beliefs create for you?

How did those feelings impact your actions?

Our beliefs create our thoughts, which impact our feelings and action (or in-action) towards our goals. This is important to understand. If we believe in the possibility of our dreams, we feel energized and excited and move towards our goals. If we believe it’s never going to happen or we are too old, too young, too skinny, too fat, too dumb (i.e. we don’t deserve it because we aren’t good enough), then we feel less than, depressed, anxious and insecure. Our actions move away from our dreams and towards a life of mediocrity in comparison to what God planned for us. If we want to achieve our goals, understanding our beliefs throughout the process is absolutely essential.

We often create beliefs based on experiences. Let’s say we have a failed interview where we thought we were the perfect candidate; we decide we didn’t get the job because we are too old. That belief then impacts our feelings and slows our momentum towards achieving our goal of gainful and happy employment. The reality, however, may not be that we are too old but simply that someone else was slightly more qualified. We create our beliefs based our on our experiences, but those beliefs may not be the reality! So how are your beliefs impacting you? Are they necessarily true? What beliefs must you integrate into your life so that you can achieve your goals?

I’d like you to complete this exercise for me. For a brief moment, think about a goal that has fallen to the wayside or that has become extremely discouraging to you.

1. Spend two minutes in brain dump and write down why you haven’t achieved your goal.
2. Describe the feelings those ‘whys’ created for you.
3. How did those feelings impact your goals, your life, your interactions with loved ones, your experience of your day (or life)?
4. Erasing your past experiences and beliefs, what actions can you take to reach your goals?
5. What feelings would support these actions?
6. What beliefs (even if you don’t believe them right now) would support those feelings?

Hope is a belief in different possibilities. Open yourself up to another perspective and challenge your current beliefs. This will break you through to new outcomes.