The Dreamer: why dreaming is easier than doing

You have a clear picture of where you want to go. The idea, the direction, the feeling that it suits you: all that’s fine, and you can talk about it enthusiastically and convincingly too. Where it goes wrong is the next step: turning that vision into a concrete first action. You’d rather get stuck in the planning stage than actually carry it out, because as long as the plan exists only in your head or on half a sheet of A4, it can’t fail yet.

That makes you a pleasantly optimistic person to work with, yet at the same time a difficult one when it comes to seeing plans through to completion. “It’ll be fine” is a lovely thought to live by, but it isn’t action. And whilst you’re still dreaming about the big picture – how wonderful it’ll all be – the small, concrete steps remain undone: precisely the steps that make the difference between an idea and a result that actually exists.

Why this happens

A Dreamer often overlooks the step between dreaming and doing, not out of unwillingness, but because the thinking stage is simply more pleasant. In the thinking stage, everything is still possible and nothing has gone wrong yet. As soon as you start putting things into practice, limitations, obstacles and things that don’t work out straight away arise, and that feels like a disappointment compared to the perfect picture you had in mind. So you’d rather linger a little longer in the stage of the big, beautiful idea.

The strength you mustn’t lose

The Dreamer can put the importance of haste into perspective and is naturally optimistic and positive: ‘it’ll all work out’ isn’t just an excuse; it’s also a genuine outlook on life that brings a great deal of peace, both to yourself and to those around you. Moreover, because you’re aware of your own dreams and wishes, you’re well placed to consider what you really want, and that provides valuable insight for ultimately defining a goal or outcome clearly, once you reach the implementation phase.

What can you do differently tomorrow?

Take the plan you’ve been thinking about for a while now, and come up with one action you can take today, in no more than twenty minutes. Not the whole plan, just the very first, smallest step possible: making a phone call, jotting down half a page, or scheduling a meeting with someone who can help you further. It’s not about that step yielding much; it’s about breaking the pattern of just thinking.

And when you have your next big idea, ask yourself straight away: who’s doing which specific task, and when exactly? Not to spoil the fun of dreaming, but to highlight the difference between ‘I’d really like to do this’ and ‘I’m going to do this, on this date’. That difference, however small it may seem, is exactly where a plan turns into a result.

One final suggestion: link your dream to someone else who actually enjoys getting things done. Not to leave it to them, but to work together to translate the broad outline into concrete tasks. Two people with different strengths often get further than one person who has to take all the steps on their own.

Is this you? See if you are, with my free test to determine your procrastination type.