To which school of thought do you belong? Do you believe your life is somehow preordained, determined by outer circumstances, and that nothing you say or do will change it? Or do you believe you have the power to create the life you would love – no matter what is going on around you, regardless of whether you were born into privilege or poverty, no matter what other people tell you to think, say or do?

The first school is Victim High. The paint in the narrow grey hallways is peeling, the roof leaks, and students shuffle from class to class with downcast heads and slumped shoulders. The second is Victory Academy. There are no walls, no roof – only endless possibilities. The students skip joyously from class to class with uplifted faces beaming with light. They are the dreamers. If you would like to join the dreamers at Victory Academy, there is a simple, foundational step to get there.

It is your dream – a big dream, a dream that touches your soul. Chinese philosopher Lao Tsu said, “Be careful what you water your dreams with. Water them with worry and fear and you will produce weeds that choke the life from your dream. Water them with optimism and solutions and you will cultivate success.” This isn’t goal setting. This is getting in touch with what makes your heart sing and answers the question, “What would you love?” To answer this question requires a Victory Academy mindset. If you have people around you who attend Victim High, you will need to distance yourself from their negativity, fear, and playing small. Instead, surround yourself with the energy and higher vibration of the students of Victory Academy.

Once you get in touch with what you would love, write it down as if it has already happened. Writing it down solidifies and grounds your dream in physical form. When your dream gets watered down by “worry and fear” – or by the naysayers at Victim High – you will have this written monument to your dream to which you can return so you can water your dreams with “optimism and solutions” toward success. Then write your “as if” future memory, write the full experience – how you feel physically, spiritually, and emotionally; what things look like; who is in your life; and the sounds, smells, and feel of your new life.

You might be wondering, “Why write my dream as if it has already happened? It hasn’t, so aren’t I lying to myself?” Human beings are probably the only life form that has the capacity to visualize, plan, and self-direct thinking. You have a subconscious mind that takes in everything you experience and stores it away without judgment – including whether or not something has really happened. It is the conscious mind that directs the subconscious. That means when you write down your dream as if it has already happened, you begin to program your subconscious mind so that you begin to think, speak, and act as the person who is already living the life you love.

Revisit your new memory every day and celebrate it as if it has already happened. Remember, you are the dreamer and visionary. You have the strength, stamina, passion, and patience to reach your dream. You are the dreamer. Make it a big dream – one that is worthy of you.

This article originally appeared in the Winter 2021 issue of CHOICES Magazine