The Importance of Dreaming Big

By A McIntyre

As children, we all had our own big, crazy dreams for the future. Some may have wanted to become the first astronauts to land on Mars, while others wanted to end all wars and achieve true world peace. But where have those big dreams gone? As we grew older, looked at those old dreams and dismiss them, believing that they’re unattainable or that they were just products of a child’s naïve fantasies.

The sad thing is that these days, even the children seem to be afraid to dream big. Research has shown that only 10% of Americans actually set a goal in public school, and this is actually closely related to the very low percentage of rich people in America. People seem to have forgotten the importance of dreaming big, which can be summarized into three key points:

Big dreams tell you that you CAN do greater things.

The problem with not dreaming big is that it leaves us prone to becoming too complacent about our lives. We become satisfied with mediocrity, and don’t strive to aim higher than that. Having a big dream makes us aware of the possibilities beyond that mediocrity and allow us to see what we’re truly capable of doing.

Big dreams inspire action.

When you have a big dream, you’ll often think that you’re crazy for wanting to pursue it. Don’t think that way! Even the largest of dreams can be attained through careful planning and discipline. Allow that desire to chase after your dream serve as the fuel you’ll need for the long journey ahead of you, and if you combine that with careful planning and disciplined action, you’ll be well on your way to achieving your goal.

Dreaming big inspires others to do the same.

A lot of people in today’s society feel that big dreams are so unattainable and impractical that they squash their own dreams and encourage others to do the same. When you acknowledge your big dreams and chase after them, these pessimists may shake their head at you and try to bring you down, but don’t mind them – once they see that you’ve managed to achieve something through pursuing a big dream, they’re likely to change their minds and think about reviving their own dreams too.

Having big dreams is not something that’s only beneficial for children – it’s something that we adults need to. We need that burst of inspiration to enable us to maximize our potential to do great things, and achieve goals that we initially believe to be beyond our reach. It’s just as theologian Reinhold Niebuhr once said: “Aim for the stars and maybe you’ll reach the sky.”