Successful dreamers are risk-takers and being a risk-taker requires courage. When we are brave and daring, we can face the unknown, conquer our fears, and overcome any difficulties that may come along with achieving our dreams. The opposite of being a risk-taker is to be discouraged and held back by fear. Wrong beliefs, thoughts, and mental habit patterns could be holding you back and preventing you from pursuing new dreams. Maybe it's time to analyze some of your past views and opinions and clear out those that are not working for you. When there is a lack of courage in your life, you eliminate possibilities to enjoy the freedom God wants you to have and minimize your potential. Whether you are inhibited by painful memories, haunting fears, doubts, and uncertainties, or even unconscious harmful beliefs, letting go is never easy - but it is well worth the effort.
One way to gain courage and get unstuck is to purposely put yourself into uncomfortable situations that cause you to stretch and take risks. Enroll in a course or sign up for classes in something that interests you but is outside your realm of expertise. Apply for a promotion or job that you are not yet quite qualified to do; you can grow into it. Take a risk each day by doing something that causes you to stretch. Ask yourself: "What's the worst that can happen if it doesn't work out?" There will be other opportunities, and you will have grown in many ways.
Courage means taking brave actions before you are feeling courageous. Mark Twain said it this way: "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear." Courage is having what it takes to tackle obstacles in the face of fear. To have courage is the opposite of being discouraged and comes from knowing that we are connected to someone more powerful than any circumstances that we may encounter. When we recognize we serve a God who is bigger than all our obstacles, we gain the courage necessary to win. The Bible tells us in Joshua 1:7 to,
"Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do."
Either we remain safely entrenched in our limited world of possible, or we trust God and step into the "impossible" realm. Choose to be a courageous dreamer and step out! Leave the possible and join the risk-takers in the realm of the impossible. It can be scary at times, but it's worth it!
"All our dreams can come true - if we have the
courage to pursue them."
- Walt Disney
