How to Stop Stalling Your Dreams and Start Putting Them in Motion

Don’t roll your eyes… yet! I know from the title of this blog post, y’all are gonna think I’m about to preach to you. That’s not necessarily true. You may be seeing a lot of people on social media projecting this idea that you’re not doing enough, or maybe you are projecting this on yourself based on what your inner voice is telling you, but that’s not what I’m here to do. I’m here to tell you my story of how I stalled my goal and what happened once I finally stopped making excuses and started to put a plan in place to make my dream a reality. I hope that by the end of this, you’ll be inspired to do the same.

My Story

Drum roll, please…………… Marlon and I finally went on our honeymoon after nearly 4 years of marriage! Woo hoo! If you didn’t know, we got married in September 2019 when I was still in college, and we had plans to go on our honeymoon in the summer of 2020 after I graduated. We’d always talked about honeymooning in Hawaii, but we settled for somewhere local because we were broke college students. Unfortunately, COVID happened and changed all of our plans.

We waited and waited for “the right time,” but it never came. COVID-19 wasn’t going to magically disappear. Work at my job wasn’t slowing down because, let’s face it, there’s always something going on when you work with high school students. Our savings account wasn’t where we wanted it to be because there was always some significant expense that came up. Time and opportunity just never seemed to be on our side… until we forced it to be.

Last December, Marlon got tired of me daydreaming about traveling more, and he sat me down to plan our first couples vacation in nearly 7 years. In trying to decide on a destination, we decided that we would stop putting off Hawaii like it’s unattainable and make that our first goal. We figured out how much money we would need, and by mid-March, we saved up enough money and had enough leave to take an entire week off for the honeymoon of our dreams. We were standing in our own way, but once we stepped aside, life showed us what we were missing out on.

So, where do you start?

All it takes is a sheet of paper and something to write with — seriously! Write a list of goals and aspirations that you’ve always had but never set out to accomplish. Then, write down everything that you need to reach that goal, whether that be money, time off of work, or a babysitter to watch your kids. Finally, give yourself a plan and a deadline of when everything will be set for you to achieve that goal.

So, if you’ve always wanted to go on a cruise, research how much money you’ll need, what month is best for a cruise, how much time off from work you’ll need, and any other logistical things you have to work out. Set a realistic deadline for yourself, and work your butt off to see it through to the end. It may be a tough road, especially when it comes to saving money in this day and age, but if you keep working towards it and adjust to the obstacles that come along the way, you’ll get there.

Final Thoughts

I’m going to say one of the most cliche things I have probably ever said on my blog — you really do only get one chance at life. Cringe, I know. However, it’s the honest truth, and that has never been clearer for me than with this situation here. If you have a dream or a goal that you’ve been putting off for a long time, I hope you use this as a sign to put that plan into motion. Tap back into the “Why?” of your dreams and use that as fuel to make your dreams become a reality. With all that we go through in our day-to-day lives, you owe it to yourself to make it happen.

P.S. — My next blog post is all about my vacation and everything that I’ve experienced, so stay tuned for that (and pictures!).

“Hold fast to dreams. For if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.”

– Langston Hughes