Are your plans for the future so much a part of your conscious awareness that they cause you to lose sleep staying up late at night working towards them?
If not, why not?
Now, don’t get me wrong. I am not endorsing the concept of working around the clock and not getting enough rest, or about not enjoying your life while you are on the road to goal attainment. 
However, if you are “punching out” at 5:00pm and not putting in the extra effort needed to bring your dreams to reality, are you sure that you are really all that excited about them to begin with?
If you can shut down your desire to work towards your goals just because a standard work day has already elapsed, then you may not be as in tune with your long-term desires as you think you are.
The “extra effort” to capture your dreams may come in many forms, and include any or all of the following:
1) Putting in actual additional hours building your business or laying the groundwork for your future planes.
2) Spending time with your friends and family talking about the beautiful future that you have envisioned, thus continually keeping your excitement level maxed out.
3) Meditating, visualizing, or practicing daily affirmations that keep both your conscious as well as your subconcious mind focused on your most heart-felt desires.
4) Researching or brain-storming new avenues of approach that will either grow your dreams to even larger proportions, or help you find a way to make it all happen sooner, rather than later.
5) Practicing conscious enjoyment of your “off-duty” hours since you have earned them after working diligently towards your dreams. Conscious enjoyment means that you recognize your down time as a well-deserved break, but only a brief respite before tackling the next task on your goal to-do list. It does not mean putting your dreams on a mental shelf.
In the Simply Successful Secrets project, I am asking people to share their daily success habits, and getting enough rest as well as enjoying down-time are part of many people’s lists, including mine.
However, when you are truly excited about your future, working towards that future is part of the fun! I remember shortly after telling my wife that I was going to take every Sunday afternoon off, it wasn’t long before I found myself working on a Sunday afternoon.
Was it because I am an incurable workaholic? Hardly. Although I do have my workaholic tendencies, the reason why I work most nights and weekends is because I want to.
My dreams for the future are vast, and they include spending A LOT of time not working. However, in order to get to that point, I work my butt off because I choose to, not because I have to. Those are two entirely different concepts.
So, should you donate your pillow to some other needy family member and just give up on getting any sleep or having any fun until you have achieved your dreams? Absolutely not!
However, if your dreams are not filling you with a level of excitement that is so great that you have to keep reminding yourself to live in the now, then you might want to step back and ask yourself if you are really all that excited about your plans.
If you are not, then find out why. Do some soul searching, and don’t stop the search until you are so excited about what you find that you, well… you can’t sleep at night! 
p.s. – As any good self improvement or personal development writer should do, I am writing from my own experience. I stayed up until 3:00am last night, and then spent another 10 hours straight working after sleeping for less than 5 hours.
Want to know what I am so excited about? My latest chance to share my knowledge with the world via the wonderful blogosphere! Check it out at the link below, be sure to leave comments, subscribe to the RSS feed, and be the same wonderful community member that you have been here at Today is that Day!
Enjoy!
Hey Aaron,
I actually have a very hard time sleeping for quite a few months,like an obsessed woman.
I go to bed at 2am and I wake during the night with thoughts and force myself to go back to bed then up again working at 7am.
Weirdly enough Shauna can’t sleep either but we talked about this the other day and she said At first she felt like nothing is worth me working like this but in the end it hit her- If she doesn’t work this hard on her future- WHO WILL?
“The heights by great men reached and kept, were not obtained by sudden flight. But they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.”
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Ophelia,
That is some timeless wisdom that you just tossed out there in your comment:
In today’s society, so many people think that things will be provided for us, or that the world “owes us one”. In truth, as you indicated, the only person in the world who is truly 100% dedicated to our dreams is us, and as individuals, we are the only people who can truly make them happen!
That’s powerful stuff, Ophelia, and thank you so much for sharing. Also, thanks for sharing that great quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – very appropriate!
Aaron,
I’m glad I checked you out on my Canadian blogs. Will definitely add you to my favorite bloggers. I like blogs that are positive in nature. We can use all the help we can get.
Thanks.
Matty,
I appreciate you stopping by – I’m always happy to get a new reader who appreciates the positive!
I added your blog to my faves as well and I’m looking forward to reading more from you in the future.
GREAT quote that you have at the top of your blog, by the way!
Got to love your style Aaron! Great article on slowing down AND speeding up.
Thanks, Shama!
Very cool how we can do both at the same time, isn’t it? 🙂
Another great post Aaron. It makes me realise that I really need to structure my ‘meditations’. They are very random affairs at the moment so it is no wonder that I forget the wonderful things that I come up with the moment I sit down at my desk.
Anne,
I hear you! I’ve taken to having access to a piece of paper, a PDA, or my computer pretty much around the clock so that I can write things down the moment they pop into my head.
Consistency is key, whether you are talking about meditating, affirming, visualizing, or whatever. I can say in truth that by the time I finally stand on the back deck of the beach house that I visualize every day, I will have already been there thousands of times! 🙂
Hey Aaron!
I’ve decided in the past month to finally pursue the career path I’ve always dreamed about — I’m going back to school this summer to get my Real Estate license! And it’s ALL I THINK ABOUT!!! I’m reading RE blogs, websites, talking with Brokers to find my new ‘home’ after getting my license. I know I’m driving family and friends nuts…but I’m so excited! And yes, it keeps me awake some nights. But it feels GREAT!!!
Once again, your blog is quite timely…THANK YOU!!
Sue
Sue – Long time no see!
I am SO happy for you that you have made this great decision! Doesn’t it feel wonderful to know what you want?
As long as you keep up that feeling of excitement and never stop thinking about and planning for your dream, your success is guaranteed!
p.s. – I can’t speak for my friends, but I know for a fact that my wife would like me to put a lid on it sometimes! That just means that the excitement level is where it needs to be. 🙂
Thanks, Aaron! And I just found out today that one of my best friends is going to get her license this summer, too!! I think this is our year!! Thanks for all your encouragement…it’s immeasurable!
Always my pleasure, Sue! I am truly grateful to hear that things are going your way!!! 🙂