Dreams and Goals

Published: Sun, 03/01/15

=>PLEASE FORWARD TO FRIENDS, FAMILY AND LOVED ONES <=

Hi,

How’s it going?

I hope you’re doing well.

Let me ask you something:

When you were little, what did you want to
be when you grew up?

An artist? A musician? An author? A teacher?
A ballerina? Or even the President?

Whatever you wanted to be, I bet it didn't
include bipolar disorder, did it?

So what did happen to your dreams? I mean,
maybe it wasn't the bipolar disorder that knocked
your dreams to the side – maybe it happened before
the diagnosis?

What happens to our dreams between childhood
and adulthood?

Most likely there was some adult (parents, teacher)
who told you that your dream wasn't realistic. Some
dreams (doctor, lawyer) maybe are realistic, but ballerina
or President? No. Maybe not so realistic.

We give up our childhood dreams to become responsible
adults. We graduate from school, grow up, get a (real)
job, get married, buy a house, raise children…and before
you know it, we're too old to follow our childhood dreams
even if we wanted to.

Or is it?

Maybe too late (or unrealistic) for childhood dreams, but
still possible for adult dreams. And yes, you can still have
them despite bipolar disorder. You just might have to be
a little more creative.

What if we were to call them goals instead of dreams?

Like, "I've always wanted to cruise the Mediterranean…"

Or, "I'd like to visit Europe someday…"

Or, "I'd like to go back to college and finish my
degree…"

Or, "I'd like to finally write that book…"

Or, "I'd love to lose those extra 50 pounds…"

Or, "I'd like to learn ballroom dancing…"

You get the picture.

The point is, these are all attainable goals.

And I'm sure when put this way, you can think
of a few yourself.

In my courses/systems, I teach it this way, too.
I don't talk about dreams. I talk about goals.
About setting realistic goals, how to do it, and
setting long-term and short-term goals:

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Perhaps the reason you haven't pursued your
dream is because it's too big.

But if you put your dream into terms of long-
and short-term goals instead, you can turn it into
manageable, bite-sized pieces.

Here's what I mean:

Like the example of going back to college for
that degree that you want. That would be your
long-term goal. But the short-term goals would be to
think of it in terms of semesters, or even courses.

Writing a book could be a long-term goal, with
writing chapters as the short-term goals.

Losing 50 pounds as a long-term goal could be broken
down into 10-pound short-term goals.

See what I mean?

So what does all this have to do with bipolar disorder?

The fact that you can still attain your dreams even
with the disorder if you break it down into setting goals,
because with bipolar disorder, the setting of goals is
something that is attainable, because you have room
for flexibility. You can work around mood swings
and episodes.

Understandably, some of your goals might be limited
by bipolar disorder. For example, making plans to
travel is one of the things that people write to me all
the time about, because it's difficult to do when you're
dealing with bipolar disorder.

I get questions like, "What if we're going on a trip and
my loved one goes into an episode?"

Or, "How can I keep my loved one from going into an
episode when we're travelling?"

I've gone into these answers in-depth in my articles,
website, and courses, but I'll just tell you briefly here:

It can be done, but it takes a lot of planning, and you
need to make sure that your loved one is STABLE.
Stability is crucial in avoiding bipolar episodes when
you're travelling.

You also need to plan for every eventuality. You need
to have safety plans in place, just like you should when
you're home. And make sure you have plenty of
back-up medication.

The point is, though, you can still, for example, fulfill
your dream of visiting Europe – you just have to plan
for it (set it as a long-term goal).

I know a woman who has been successful at setting
goals and achieving her dreams. Her secret is that she
does the hardest part first – that way she gets it out of
the way.

What do you think?

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Well, I have to go!

Your Friend,

Dave

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