Do you have a really big dream? Something so big, so exciting that you're not sure how you can possibly have it especially considering where you are now? In my coaching and workshops, one of my primary tenets is that if you're going to dream and go to all the trouble of attracting what you most want, make it something big, something better than you've ever thought of before. One of my students, a beautiful artist, said her dream was to make $1,000 a month with her art. I asked, why not $10,000 or $100,000 a month? She was challenged to examine why her dreams are limited and to stretch herself for something bigger.

Dreaming big can be exciting and also paralyzing. I teach the principles of attraction to attain your goals and dreams. As part of this, you let go of the how and allow the Universe to work on your behalf. In an ideal world or for someone who has practiced this for a while and knows it works, you don't have to take any action except what the Universe tells you to do. You will know through intuition or signs or synchronicities what actions to take. This is called inspired action. But for many of us still in the practicing stages and who are working up our confidence in how this works, we still feel the need to take action in our daily lives on our own while waiting for these cues.

This is where the baby steps come in. When you feel confused or paralyzed, unable to move forward, taking baby steps can get you back on track. Even in my attraction workshops, I encourage baby steps to build up your confidence that the attraction principles are real and always work. Some of us have a hard time believing that the Universe or God will truly look out for us and that it responds to our desires (as expressed through our emotional vibration and thoughts). If you start practicing with the biggest dream you have and it takes longer than you expect or doesn't come the way you expect, you may lose interest or belief in the process. So until we get that confidence that will allow us to have what we desire through informed action, we take our usual action steps.

If you can't see how to get to your goal or you see it but it seems too far away or too big or too scary or you are overwhelmed, small steps can get you unstuck and moving again. So no matter how big the dream, you can start with the smallest of actions. If your dream was to write a book, even planning to write a chapter a month might be too overwhelming. Start smaller with daily actions such as "write two paragraphs describing what the book is about" on day 1, "research market saturation of this type of book via the Internet" on day 2, "create title" on day 3, and so on. Put these planned small actions on your calendar, even very small actions. Engage the support of friends or a coach who will encourage you and hold you accountable.

Small baby steps give you powerful leverage in achieving your dreams. They will give you confidence and momentum, both of which will get you unstuck and propel you forward. So get out there and dream big, bigger, biggest! You can achieve anything you can dream of.

Copyright 2005 by Mary Anne Fields and Life Unfolds.