The Thing No One Tells You About Achieving Your Dreams

As someone who’s ambitious and wants to have a meaningful impact on the world, I often look to other people who’ve done exactly that. People who’ve made a name for themselves, reached the highest levels, and have achieved "every measure of success". Becoming someone like that is still one of my greatest sources of motivation (as flawed as it might be).

However, one of those people shared a perspective that completely rocked my world. Mark Manson, a best-selling author whose life is permanently changed because of the popularity of his work, talked about his experience with finding fame. And in particular, the unexpected experience that came with it. Manson said:

“Here’s what nobody tells you about achieving your dream: The next morning, you wake up without one.”

A dream fills you with energy and fuels you with enthusiasm in ways nothing else can. It’s the ultimate motivator that lights up your soul and brings out your best. I never paused to think about what life would be like if I didn’t have something like that driving me forward. That when you actually achieve your dream its pull on you goes away.

It begs the question, which life is better: A life where you’re working hard toward something that you believe in, or a life where you have everything you ever wanted?

Before I would’ve answered the latter. Everything you’ve ever wanted is everything you’ve ever wanted. What else could you want?

But as Manson illuminated, that’s just one factor among many. What might be more valuable is to have a strong sense of purpose in everything you do. That the allure of fulfilling your potential may be more satisfying than actually doing it. That joy and fulfillment is found in the process of becoming rather than being. That Tony Robbins was right when he said “Happiness is progress.”

If you’re lacking direction and motivation in your life, perhaps it’s because you don’t have a dream you’re chasing. It’s by pursuing a bigger vision for yourself that you force your personal evolution. When you find that thing that’s meaningful to you, it will fire you up to live at your next level.

And if you apply yourself and earn the success you’ve been chasing, be aware of what comes with not having a dream. The confusion, complacency, and emptiness of not having direction - even if you’re living what used to be a dream. Because beyond beings successful, people genuinely desire being in motion.