Help me realise my dreams

Sometimes we may not know our own dreams because no one has taken the time to ask us what they are. Sometimes the word ‘dream’ can feel really big and out of reach. You can make a difference for young person by helping them realise what their dreams are.

You can ask questions like: 

• What’s something you have always wanted to do/experience? Why? 
• What do you think you’re good at? Do you enjoy it? 
• What makes you happy? 
• What makes you excited? 
• What makes you angry? 
• How can you use what makes you feel happy, excited, or angry to achieve what you want to be, do, and experience? 
• What would you like to do for a job?

A conversation about dreams might give you opportunity to share your experiences with them. Tell them what your dreams were when you were their age. How did you achieve them? What difficulties did you face in trying to reach your dreams?

Maybe you’re still trying to reach them – this can show them there’s no timeframe for dreams. You can inspire rangatahi / young people by showing how you are still working hard to reach your own goals.

For someone to achieve their dreams they usually need to be passionate about it. Helping rangatahi / young people find their passions can help them find purpose and meaning.

Here’s how you can help them:

Help them make a list

Ask them to write down the things they like to do, and then number them in order of most enjoyable to least enjoyable.

If they find this hard, help them write down things they liked to do when they were younger, or things they’ve never done but would like to try. This can remind them of things they used to love doing.

Inspire them to start a gratitude journal

Being thankful everyday can help shift someone’s focus from what they don’t have to appreciating the things they do have. Help them choose a book they like and get them to start a practice of writing one thing down they’re grateful for or happy about every day. This can be something as little as flowers in the front yard, or a song they love.

Show them how to think positively

Get them to think about what they bring to the world. What are their talents? What are the skills they have they’d like to improve? Help them to think up positive affirmations so they can focus their attention on things they want to experience. Affirmations are powerful and should be personal and specific. Here’s an example for someone who loves drawing: “Great ideas flow into me like a river every time I sit down at my drawing pad.”

Help them do something they love every day

You can inspire them to do one small thing that they love each day. Help them focus on the time they have – all it takes is 5 to 10 minutes to write down a short story, draw a picture, play an instrument or practice their favourite sport.

Help them enrol in classes

There are all kinds of classes available for rangatahi / young people who have a passion. Get them to look at course catalogues online to find course titles that interest them. Colleges, local community centres, and libraries offer a variety of free or low-cost courses and workshops that let rangatahi / young people explore their passions.

Online sites like Coursera(external link) offer free courses from universities and colleges around the world.

Introduce them to inspiring people

Every successful individual begins their journey with a passion. All they did was make a commitment to themselves and to their passion and supported their words with actions. If you know people like this, introduce them to the rangatahi / young people in your life! Show them a real life example of someone who made their dreams come true. They’ll quickly understand that if they don’t stop, and they don’t give up, they can achieve anything.