Okay ladies, let’s get real. 👯♀️ How many of us have spent hours crafting the perfect vision board—glitter included—only to stare at it six months later like, “Hmm, still renting that apartment, still single, still haven’t learned French”? ✨ Been there, cried over the glue gun. But guess what? My big “aha” moment came when I realized: dreams don’t care about your aesthetic collage skills. They care about systems. Let me explain…
Last year, I decided I wanted to run a marathon. Not a “maybe someday” whim—a full-on, legs-on-fire, 26.2-mile commitment. Did I start by pinning sneaker inspo on Pinterest? Nope. I did something wildly unsexy: I Googled “how to not die running a marathon.” Turns out, the secret wasn’t motivation (shocker!). It was breaking the goal into stupidly small steps. Like, “run for 3 minutes without stopping” small. By month three? I was jogging past my old “I’ll start tomorrow” self. 🏃♀️
Here’s the tea: clarity beats passion. Studies show people who define specific actions (e.g., “save $200/month”) vs. vague goals (“be richer”) are 3x more likely to succeed. My friend Jess wanted to start a bakery. Instead of obsessing over logo designs, she tested recipes on coworkers every Friday. Three months later? Her “ugly but delicious” cookies funded her commercial kitchen deposit. 🍪
But wait—what about the feels? Oh, I’ve ugly-sobbed into my planner too. The game-changer? Tracking progress, not perfection. I use a “Wins Jar” (literal jar, $2 at Target). Every tiny victory—emailed a client, did a 5am workout—gets scribbled on paper. On low days, I dump it out and realize: “Oh, I am that girl.” 💅
And let’s talk failure. My “launch a podcast” dream? Ep 1 was recorded…in my closet…with my cat meowing. It flopped. But here’s the magic: failure is data, not destiny. I tweaked the format, interviewed actual humans (cat-free), and now? 10k downloads. 🎧
The real kicker? Goals need breathing room. I used to treat my plans like IKEA instructions—rigid, stressful, missing pieces. Now I schedule “dream check-ins” every quarter. Last month, I realized my “write a novel” goal felt heavy. So I pivoted to short stories. Guess who just got published in a lit mag? 📚
So, ditch the pressure. Your dreams aren’t a TikTok trend—they’re a conversation. Start small, stay curious, and for heaven’s sake, celebrate the mess. That vision board? Frame it. Then go build the actual damn vision. 💥