3 Reasons Why People Don’t Chase Their Dreams

Do you still have dreams of a lifestyle you’d love to attain or a business you’d like to start? Do you remember how to dream big like our kids do? 

As we grow, we often grow into the mindset that we have to work hard and we can’t take chances – or chase dreams – because we have to be responsible, especially if we have a family to support. Mindsets can also be established unconsciously during childhood, when we hear parents or other adults continuously saying either positive or negative comments regularly. 

Mindset simply refers to “the established set of attitudes held by someone”. Not everyone has the same mindset and if one person is a risk taker in one part of their life, they may not embrace the same risk in another part of their life. Ultimately, one’s mindset plays a huge part in whether they follow their dreams or not. 

Here are 3 ways mindset can sabotage your ability to dream big and chase those dreams:

1. You think you’re too old. Age is just a number and in your mind, if you think you’re too old to do something, then you won’t do it. Of course, if there is a physical limitation or risk of doing an activity, then err on the side of caution, but if you think you’re too old to start a business, think again.

Need some inspiration? Look up the stories of Ernestine Shepherd and Josefina Monasterio. Both women are grandmothers who have won hundreds of trophies as body builders. They didn’t let a negative mindset get in the way of reaching their goals and they started their training at ages 58 and 59, respectively.

2. You’re afraid to fail. Failing and succeeding are two inevitable results in life, two opposite ends of a spectrum. If you’re afraid to fail, you’ll never know if your idea was a good one or not. You may be haunted by the “What would have happened if…?” questions for the rest of your life.

As the famous Thomas Edison is quoted as saying, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” Edison is one of the preeminent inventors of our time and if he didn’t overcome the mindset of giving up or not being good enough, we probably wouldn’t have the lightbulb, phonograph, or motion picture cameras today.

3. You lack confidence. You’ll always have the little devil on your shoulder telling you to give up because you’re not good enough or there’s someone better than you. No one is perfect, however, and competition in business is a sign that there’s money to be made in that market. No matter what business you want to start, competition is a good sign; you just have to figure out how to stand out above the other competitors to win your customers.

Did you know that Walt Disney was fired from his first animation job at the Kansas City Star newspaper because they said he lacked imagination? Now the Walt Disney Company assets are worth over 98 billion dollars. So much for “lack of imagination”!

My point is, you are your own worst enemy. If your mindset is holding you back from starting a new business and achieving the lifestyle you want, there are ways to change those negative mindsets into positive ones. 

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