Dreams will not be cancelled
March started with pure bliss celebrating senior year with my best friends in Poland. Since the beginning of the year, the end of my Bachelor’s started to feel closer and closer. Regardless, I believe I speak for the class of 2020 when I say that we would have never in a million years imagined that the best yet more challenging years of our lives would come to an end with rushed goodbyes and a world pandemic.
After a Forbes 30 under 30 nomination and our prototyping phase nearly coming to an end I surely felt more full of life and closer to my dreams than ever. However, packing up my Berlin flat in two suitcases in a matter of hours left most of my motivation hanging. The rest of the semester has been cancelled and classes have been moved to an online format. The NBA cancelled the season and the summer Olympics have been postponed. While the list goes on and grows longer every day, I am here to tell you that your dreams should not be part of it.
Whether you are in self-solation, a full lockdown, or simply waiting for quarantine to end, here are five waves of energy to remind you that your dreams should not be put on hold during this crisis.
- Talk about your dream
At Conquer, we work towards closing the breach between technology and developing countries. To do so, our team developed a series of affordable technological tools aimed at providing quality education and decreasing school desertion in developing countries. We have been dreaming about our pilot testing rounds (scheduled for May 4th) for about a year but they have been delayed indefinitely. While making this decision felt like a low blow, we have now realized that we needed to stop to breathe to be able to see the modifications both our robots and our mobile app so desperately needed. This realization took us a few heart-to-hearts reminding us of the importance of talking about our dreams and feelings. Check-in with your people and ask them about their fears and worries during this crisis. Sometimes it takes an unbiased opinion to help you find the silver linings.
2. Check-in with yourself
Now, more than ever, being accountable with our thoughts should be our main priority. Ask yourself how you are feeling. Ask yourself what is worrying you. The sooner you know the sooner you can address it. Here is a loving way you can do so:
Every morning, after asking the previous questions use this affirmation. Use your first name or the nickname people who love you the most use and say: “baby, I celebrate the women you are becoming. I forgive you for every time I put you in danger looking for love. I commit to you that I will lay at least one brick towards your dream.” You should customize these statements to heal every piece that has been hurting and repeat them for as many days as you need to. Later, when you get tired during the day, go back to them to find the energy to complete the last task you told yourself you would finish.
3. All about the baby steps
Let me warn you. There are going to be good and bad days. Some mornings you will wake up feeling like you can conquer the world, some you will not have the energy to get out of bed and put on a fresh pair of PJs. While it is true that Rome was not built in a day, they were bricks being positioned every hour. You don’t have to build everything you want today, but please, lay at least one brick.
4. The five second rule
As Changemakers, ideas usually come and go. The problem is usually not the lack of them but the fact that we don’t act on them. Something nobody ever tells you is that once you turn 18 you will have to start parenting yourself. This includes forcing yourself to do the things you do not want to do. Unfortunately, motivation is never there when you need it the most. Our stubborn generation is characterized by always knowing what to do next. Sadly, we rarely know how to force ourselves to do it. Like a wave of energy, counting to five backwards will give you the push you need. Mel Robbins calls this the five second rule.
5. Go back to your why
One of the many reasons why I consider myself lucky to be a Changemaker is the energy my purpose comes hand in hand with. My reason ‘why’ is the 258 million children out of school. Whether it is the 40% of girls that are married by the time they are 18 or the nearly 71 million people displaced, your why amidst the crisis matters more than ever. Most of these people’s needs have become a second priority and they need our efforts more than ever while governments focus on coping with this health emergency.
P.S Some startups founded during the last recession include Uber, Airbnb, and Whatsapp. Some of the most iconic companies of the next decade will undoubtedly be launched during these surreal times and now is the best time as any to redesign the DNA of business. Keep working towards being one of them!
Global Changemakers has an unshakeable mission of supporting youth to create positive change in their communities. A global pioneer in supporting youth-led development, they have trained youth from over 180 countries and provided grants to over 360 youth-led projects, which have had a combined impact on over 6,2 million people ” www.global-changemakers.net
DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this article belong to the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or Global Changemakers.
