DREAM BLOCK - by Jefferson Nnadiekwe

The biggest obstacle a person might encounter when trying to achieve their goals or on their path to success, is their dreams. Strange right? Dreams are great. Each time I hear the word dreams, that song from ' The Greatest Showman' comes to mind - you know the one, sorry if you don't (take it as an assignment). So what are dreams? Not in the literal sense, but in relation to ambition. I will define dreams as that lofty aspiration a person has to create an impact in a specific career, or just for personal success. It doesn't matter in what aspect of life, dreamers exist everywhere. They are artists, scientists, lawyers, medical practitioners, farmers etc. Anyone can have a dream to excel anywhere. It all sounds so good, so what the hell was my opening statement about? Dreams are supposed to spur us into steps of actualization, right? Not all the time. Dreams may turn out to be what holds us back, and this is because a lot of people get stuck in the dream phase and take no concrete step. The world is full of dreamers, yet it is strange that only a handful of those dreamers turn their dreams to reality. I bet if you hit up a random person from your contact list and ask them their aspirations, they will have a lot to say. But then, if you push further you will probably find that there are no steps being taken. It's quite easy to dream. It costs nothing. Find a quiet place and cast your mind, that's all that it takes. The world of dreams is bursting with an infinite number of ideas, from an infinite number of people. The sad part is many of those ideas live and die in that world. This is not a post to discourage dreamers, far from it. I'm writing this to tell you that there is a whole lot of work to be done after the dream phase. Hard work is scary. It's daunting... The fact that even after working hard, failure is still a possibility is discouraging. These are the factors that a lot of people consider and opt to rather keep dreaming. Hard work isn't the only opposition to actualization of dreams. We also have greed and impatience. Because dreams are so lofty and grand, it's easy to get carried away. If I dream of becoming the best filmmaker in the world, my mind goes straight to the perks and awards. The more I envision the perks, the more greedy and impatient I become - I want them all as far as my dreams travel. I may forget that becoming the best filmmaker in the world entails that I have to make a film first and fail sometimes. If I do not have the patience to fail, how am I going to grow? It is not uncommon for dreamers to let their dreams run wild and detached from reality. Dreams require a level of pragmatism and discipline inorder to tame them. I will know all these because I used to be a wild dreamer. Thank God I have become wise enough to realize that I need to set myself on a path first - a frustrating and pain laden path filled with Nos and rejection. To make progress in our aspirations and goals, we need to get out of our own way. And to do that sometimes requires us to stop dreaming for a moment.

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