“My mother said, ‘You won’t amount to anything because you procrastinate.’ I said, ’Just wait.’”
—Judy Tenuta
Do you have a big dream that’s waitlisted?
Is it just dying there?
Most of us have wishes, ambitions, and maybe even a well-defined goal or two that we’re not pursuing. We’re holding back. Nothing’s happening.
The excuses we give for not chasing our dreams vary, and we even persuade ourselves that they’re legitimate reasons. But the real reason is a shortage of emotional firepower. Almost always. When we don’t want a goal badly enough, we wait.
We need something to trigger more desire.
People with fierce desire don’t give themselves excuses. If your goal excites you enough—if it sets you on fire inside—you go for it! You find ways to pursue your dream. The make-or-break factor is the “want to.”
This raises a few questions:
- What energizes you?
- What throws off sparks of pleasure when you’re doing it?
- Which of your superpowers do you most enjoy using?
Your answers are like a compass. They’ll swing the needle toward your own personal magnetic north, providing clues regarding where to aim yourself.
Next, select the one particular “want” on your waitlist that engages your top talents, touches your heart, and cranks you up the very most. Then begin pursuing it.
That’s when some quiet magic happens!
Beginning the pursuit of something you seriously crave causes your body to release a powerful neurotransmitter, a chemical messenger called dopamine. This happens automatically. Dopamine is called the “feel-good hormone”—it lifts your mood, motivates you, and intensifies your desire.
So you’re off to the races.
You become more alert. More productive. More positive-minded. Dopamine puts you in an ideal state for learning and taking new risks. You become braver and work with more drive. And dopamine continues to reward you as you chase your dream, creating a self-reinforcing cycle of behavior.
Simply pursuing your high-powered goal stimulates your desire to pursue it still further. Relentless pursuit keeps you juiced up with dopamine flow.
So give yourself permission to go for it. Now’s the time to get your quantum leap goal off the waitlist.
Waiting is the world’s #1 dream killer.