If You Want to Achieve Your Dreams, Avoid This 10 Mistakes

Whether your dream is to become the next most famous singer, or you are working hard at college, so that you can one day be as renowned in your field as Stephen Hawking is in his, when you set put to achieve a dream, you will need hard work and dedication to achieve it.

You will also need to avoid the common mistakes that many people make that hold them back and stop them getting to where they want to be. Here are ten of those mistakes that you will need to avoid if you are, one day, to achieve your dreams.

1. Procrastinating for too long

A dream will stay a dream unless you actually get on and do something about it! Don't spend too much time weighing up the pros and cons, or you will start to doubt yourself and you may never make a start. If you really want something, then there is no better time to start working towards it than today.

2. Letting the past hold you back

We all make mistakes, and sometimes things just don't work out as we would have liked, but you shouldn't let your past experiences hold you back from trying again. You will have learned from those past mistakes, and now you can put what you learned to good use in following your dream.

3. Lacking direction

If a dream is worth achieving, then it's not going to be easy to achieve, so you will need to be 100% focussed on the task ahead and not be distracted by other things. Set your goal and have it clear in your mind. Then work out a plan of how to get there. If you let yourself wander off the plan and you start to follow many different dreams, you will probably end up achieving none of them at all.

4. Letting the doubters put you off

Not everyone has the courage to try to achieve their dreams and those that don't will be the very same people who will tell you that you will never achieve yours. While some people may have some very sound advice to help you succeed, ignore the doubters who appear to be just trying to put you off even trying. They might not want you to try because, if you do succeed, it will put the spotlight on their own lack of courage and ambition.

5. Not setting milestones

When you set out to achieve something big, it may take some time to reach your final goal, so you should set yourself smaller milestones along the way that you can celebrate. Aim for each smaller target, one by one, and it won't seem as daunting as aiming for the final victory. If you were aiming to save enough money for a dream trip overseas, for example, you could target a monthly amount to save.

6. Not monitoring your progress

There's no point in setting those milestones if you don't monitor your progress towards them. In any long term project, it can be easy to get disillusioned, and then you run the risk of giving up before you reach your ultimate goal. Keep a journal, and note down each little success. Then, you'll have something to celebrate as you work your way towards achieving your dream and it will keep you motivated.

7. Not seeking help when you need it

It feels great to achieve something on your own, but you should still never be too proud to ask for help when you need it. Whatever it is you are working on; a second opinion, or a bit of friendly advice and encouragement, might be just what you need to keep you on track. If you look at all the very successful people in the world, you will find that they all had some help getting to where they are today.

8. Comparing yourself with others

When you are striving to achieve your dream, don't compare your own journey with that others. Everyone one works at different speeds and some people will take different routes than you have chosen. If you compare your progress with that of other people, you may become disillusioned, or try to copy what they are doing and find out later that it's not the right way for you.

9. Not adapting plans

You do need to be determined and keep your eyes firmly fixed on your goal, but you also need to be flexible enough to modify your plans when the need arises. Things that are that are outside of your control may change along the way and, if you are not prepared to adapt to those changes, you may never achieve your dream.

10. Giving up too early

The biggest mistake of all to avoid when you want to achieve your dreams is giving up before you reach your goal. So many people set out with high hopes and then quit before they make it to the finish line. Don't be one of those who only half-heartedly tried to achieve their dreams, be one of those who persevered and saw it through to the end.

How to achieve your dreams? What are your best tips?