What do you do if you’ve got to make a choice between two paths you want to take? How are you supposed to choose? Is there a right choice and a wrong choice? A better choice or a worse choice? How do you decide between good and great? What if you have more than one dream path? How do you close the door on a dream even if it’s to follow another dream? Here are some methods to help you pick between two paths.
Use Secondary Factors
Sometimes you can’t compare the dreams directly. They’re both just too good. They are both something you’ve always wanted to do. So move on to secondary factors. Make a list of the other factors you want in your life, and compare the dreams to those. Here is an example:
Dream 1: Start an online magazine on your favorite topic
Dream 2: Lead exotic excursions to other countries
Make a list of the secondary factors that are important to you. For example:
- Income potential
- Free Time
- Fun
- Opportunities for Growth
- Networking with interesting people
- Easy to start now
- Inexpensive to run
Then rate each dream on these secondary factors on a scale of 1 – 10. If there is a certain secondary factor that is a lot more important than the others, (i.e. it has to be fun), then give that factor more weight, like multiply it by 2. Tally up the points at the end and see which of your dreams provides the highest score on your secondary factors.
It doesn’t mean one dream is better than another, or more exciting than the other, just that based on the secondary factors, one will provide the whole package better than the other.
Do One First and Then the Other
It’s okay to have more than one dream in life, and it’s okay to follow your dreams in succession. Look at your two dreams and see if there is one that you can do now while saving the other one for later. Maybe now’s the time to start an online magazine on your favorite topic, and once that’s earning a high income and is on autopilot, you could segue into leading exotic excursions to other countries.
Or perhaps you could have your life of adventure while you’re still young enough to climb machu picchu, and then settle down and run an online magazine from home.
There’s no law that says you can only follow one dream in life.
Combine Your Dreams
Maybe you can have your cake and eat it too. Maybe there’s a way to combine your dreams. To continue with our example, what if you started an online magazine about exotic travel locations, and took people on excursions then wrote about them for your magazine? In that case, you could fulfill both your dreams simultaneously. You could even hire other writers to contribute articles about their favorite exotic locations, and you could plan events in unusual places where your readers could meet.
I successfully combined two of my dreams: helping and counseling others, and the paranormal. I got my degree in psychology but didn’t want to use classic counseling techniques. My intuitive abilities and love of the paranormal gave me the ability to provide intuitive counseling which is a much faster and more effective method of helping others. I found a way to merge my two desires into one career.
Trust Your Feelings
Tune in to your intuition. What does your gut tell you? First imagine you’ve decided on one of your dreams. Imagine what it’s like to actually be living that dream. Does it feel good? Or is there something about the dream that doesn’t feel right? Now tune in to the other dream. Feel it. Try it on for size. Imagine you are already doing it. How does it feel? See if one dream feels better than the other.
Also check to see where you feel relief and where you feel regret. Imagine someone came along and said, “You must choose Dream A.” Do you feel relieved and happy or do you feel sad and regretful about losing the other dream? Then imagine someone said, “You must choose Dream B.” Relief or regret? Sometimes our gut knows better than our mind.
By the time you choose your dream it should feel fantastic. You should have no misgivings or regrets about the path you’re choosing. It should even be high on secondary factors. It should excite and motivate you. If it doesn’t, then maybe it’s not the dream you thought it was. Think of what else you’ve always wanted to achieve or do and run it through these filters again.
Once you’ve got your dream in mind, run with it. Don’t stop until you’ve achieved it. Enjoy the process, and enjoy the success! If joy on your path ever begins to wane, find a new dream and take a new path. Keep following your dreams and you will be happy!
