It’s Time to Unbreak Your Dream Machine
Dreams…we daydream, night dream, we go to dreamland and
dreamworld; we can be dreamlike, dreamless, and we can be outdreamt. People can
be dreamy, dreamboats, and the dreamiest. What we know for sure is that people
dream and when this subject is written about, many times it’s concerning
dreaming about what we want; the big house(s), the boat or yacht, the vacation
home(s), the successful business(es), etc. This article is about something much
more personal; dreaming about who you really are. Your Core Identity.
So many times, we sell-out who we are for the things we are
told we should have by the society in which we live. What if you were to dream
about who you desire to be without the external influences of material
possessions, societal expectations, and any other external influences?
From my experience of working with thousands of people, I
have found very few people 1) know their Core Identity, 2) if they know it,
they are living true to it, and 3) dream of being something other than the
roles they play in life. It’s like the Dr. Seuss book, And to Think it Happened on
Mulberry Street. The main character, Marco, fantasizes of this
wonderful circus following him on his way home from school, which is transformed
from everyday people and animals along the way. With this amazing circus
in-tow, Marco rushes up the front steps of his home, eager to tell his father
his imagined, but seemingly real, story. However, when his father questions him
about what he saw on his way home, his face turns red and he says, “Nothing …
but a plain horse and wagon on Mulberry Street.”
Marco’s Dream Machine had been broken because of someone
else’s expectations. Has yours? Let’s put it to the test. If you could choose
any and all of the values, traits, and characteristics you would like to be,
what would you be like? If your dream leads you to only involve the roles you
play, such as an executive, an employee, a spouse, a daughter/son, a
mother/father, etc., then I encourage you to journey further inward. But, you
may say…
“The Assessments
Told Me Who I Am”
I’ve worked within the Employee Behavioral Assessment
Industry for over 20 years, from helping build them from start-to-finish to selling
and implementing them within corporations. I was told by the psychologists and
psychometrists who I interacted with that our cognitive abilities, interests,
and behaviors become pretty much set-in-stone around age 16. I used to believe
that. I don’t any longer and here’s why.
First, neuroscience has proven that we have the ability to make new neuropathways well into our 80’s and to continue learning and growing all the while. It’s called Neuroplasticity. This means we can change our behaviors because we can change our beliefs and thoughts. In fact, it’s possible to strategically facilitate the unwiring and rewiring of the neuropathways that aren’t helping you to achieve what you want in life. Watch the video below that shows how this happens.
Watch the brain create thoughts and remove others
Second, my experience of working with people has shown me
the truth that we are who we are because of our experiences in life, which is
only what these assessments are measuring.
You may be thinking, “And…?” What I mean by that is we have
adapted and changed ourselves to become what our experiences in life teach us
to be, many times with negative consequences. It’s also true that we have adapted and
changed ourselves because of societal expectations and to acquire the material
possessions we want. Therefore, I believe assessments tell us who we have
become, not who we really are. As an
example, every person I have ever worked with who was labeled as an
“Introvert” really wasn’t. In
every instance, I was able to trace the introvert-like behaviors to an event,
or events, in their life where they found safety by exhibiting introvert
behaviors. Being an introvert was a
survival technique. Once that experience, or experiences, were removed or
changed, these people became much more outgoing, some full-blown extroverts!
Unbreak Your Dream
Machine by Discovering Who You Really Are
What if you could live life to the full because you became
unshackled from all the “stuff” that’s holding you back; the hurts, habits,
hang-ups, and limiting beliefs that you’ve collected through the years? Let
your imagination loose for a few minutes and sense how that feels. If you could
wash away all of the negative events and beliefs from your mind, just imagine
the person you would be. You could be enough; good enough, smart enough, pretty/handsome
enough, powerful enough, etc.!
Feel how much more powerful you are just imagining it! I
wonder if you can feel how much more freedom you have! Feel the energy begin to
release from inside you as you become lighter, your head rising up, your
shoulders going back, your back straightening, and your chest pushing forward!
Have you ever had a dream and that dream became real? It gives you that inner feeling that somehow you knew…that something was going to be different. You can have that feeling now because it is possible to become who you really are instead of who you have become. And, that’s a wonderful reason to unbreak your Dream Machine!
Dr. Edward Lewellen is an expert in creating methodologies for people to learn to use their mind; their beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors, and put them back in control of their lives and become top-producers. He is a Master Executive Coach, leadership and sales expert, and keynote speaker for some of the largest global organizations.
Author of:
Life Mastery: The Fully Functional Life
