Dreams vs goals
May 3, 2023
Dreams vs goals #
From: 🌊 Project Oyster
When I moved to the USA, I decided to make my dreams become a reality, but I have failed to take any significant steps so far. This problem has haunted me for years: I have ideas, but they never become more than a dream.
I analysed why this is the case, and while doing so, I remembered a simple phrase: is it a dream or a goal?
A dream is the idea of an amazing future I’d love to be a reality. It is not more than an image in my head, yet I am sad when it eventually doesn’t come true.
A goal is also an image of a potential future that is not a reality yet, but there are two essential differences:
-
A defined result While a dream is a vague concept of how I’d like things to be, a goal has a clear output I can work towards with parameters I can define.
I’d love to work from wherever in the world, vs I need to earn $2000/month with an activity that doesn’t bind me to a location.
-
A path When I have the desired result, I can think about the necessary steps I have to take and set milestones along the way. I split the goal into smaller, doable sub-goals.
I would love to be a lawyer, vs I will go to university to study law, take the bar exam, and then be a lawyer.
Dreams will always stay dreams, but I can turn them into actionable goals by defining the desired outcome and the steps that allow me to work towards them.
To make my dreams come true, I have to turn them into goals by defining the desired outcome, filling in the necessary steps, and then following them one by one. These steps are the milestones on the journey towards my goal, and each milestone is a separate goal on its own.
Possible milestones for 🌊 Project Oyster:
- Launching my first product
- 1st sale
- Steady income of $1000/month
- 10 000 users
- Anywhere income
- An automated business portfolio
- …
I can work towards my dream and eventually reach it by turning it into a simple path with achievable steps.