It was a beautiful fall day. At this time I was still a university student, diligently taking on my courses in business. I was also balancing a new role in my job as a competitive swim coach. I was tasked that year with training over 15 young athletes as they began their competitive swimming career. There were overwhelming feelings; I was wondering if I could take on this job amongst my studies. I remember going for a walk to clear my mind on this nice, fall day.

I vividly remember walking to a dog park. The grass was green and there was a cool breeze. I laid down and spent a good half hour dreaming about the upcoming year. What did I want it to become? What did I want to accomplish? What am I striving for? I asked myself these and other questions. I dreamt. I left feeling more at peace and equipped to tackle my year of studies and work.

Looking back, it was a fruitful year. The team that I coached did amazingly well. We had 75 percent of my competitive swimmers attain the regional time standards, which is a significant achievement. In my studies, I earned high marks and was able to maintain my entrance scholarship. That year was also balanced. I factored in time to workout, built great friendships, and grew in my spiritual life. I look back at that year which was filled with lots of joy and success.

I attribute the success of that year to the vital time spent dreaming that one fall day.

When was the last time you spent some time dreaming?

I think contemplation will help our action. Our reflection will help our execution. Our thinking will help our doing.

We live in a world that is fast-paced, very busy, and focused on getting things done. I believe that yes, leaders get things done, but the great leaders get things done with both intention and careful thought. 

Sure, there are times when I cannot think through a decision with thorough deliberation. Yet, for the bigger picture, every now and then I must take a step back and reflect.

An artist will dabble at their painting and then occasionally step back to see its wholeness. They will work on the details and then make sure to pause and take a look at the bigger picture. Leadership is no different.

What if we spent more time dreaming? What if we spent more time carefully reflecting on our life and what we really hope to achieve? What if we had greater awareness, of ourselves, our future, and our life? What if we dreamt of doing something wild, something creative, something that we never thought we could do, and then we did it?!

I think we can walk through life aimlessly. We don’t know where we are going. We don’t know what we’re doing. We don’t know what we really love. The result of this is that we aren’t living out of our potential. We aren’t leading happy and fulfilling lives.

So, carve out some dream time. I think we should carve out more time in our schedule to contemplate, to ponder, to reflect, to think, and to dream. We could be amazed of what we might encounter. We might pick up a hobby that we once loved, we might acquire greater conviction of the work that we’re doing. We might even consider leaving a job to find a better one, one that will allow us to thrive with our areas of giftedness. Who knows!

It’s a virtue to think before acting. In the classical virtues, I would consider that contemplation helps to foster the virtue of prudence. I see it as the ability to choose the good in a situation.

I call this ‘dream time’. By carving out some time in our schedule to take a step back and think, we will become a holistic person. 

Here are some practical tips to help your dream time.

Journal

At least once a week, I would recommend journaling. In fact, I got in the habit of doing it very regularly. Get a pen to paper, where your thoughts must slow down to reach the speed with which you write. We can ask ourselves questions before we begin. We can start the session focussing on a theme. Do we want to journal about your work? Do we want to journal about a recent experience? Do we want to journal about a relationship? Do we want to journal about future hopes? When we pick a theme, we can ask ourselves important questions so that we can write. 

I bought a journal this past year for the sole purpose of leadership. I’ve jot down important quotes, leadership lessons, and notes from talks. A fruit from my journaling has been the desire to start this leadership website.

It can take time to get in the habit of journaling. But once we exercise that muscle, it becomes easier and easier. We will grow our skills in reflection, writing, and communication.

Daily Reflection

I lived in Montreal last year. I had the convenient privilege of taking the metro every day to work. Normally I would listen to podcasts or music from my phone. I even tried to listen to the news. However, I found myself becoming restless to start my morning. In talking with a mentor, they suggested to quiet the noise. I began to commute without any media. The result? I actually became more peaceful to start my day and had greater awareness of how I was feeling and reacting.

I would use the commute times as a way to reflect. Before going into work, I would ask myself certain questions. What am I looking forward to today? How am I feeling? What do I hope to achieve today? I felt that I worked with greater diligence and awareness. As I finished the work day, maybe then I would treat myself to some music.

Maybe we can find time in our commutes. I also pray to start and end my days. Whatever it may be, try something that will help you become better at reflecting, on a daily basis if possible.

Scheduled Dream Time

If it’s important to us, wouldn’t we pencil it into our calendar? Every now and then, I take a half hour and just dream. I may go for a walk on my own or I may lie down on my bed in the evening. All it takes is cultivating a time of silence and asking ourselves the question, “What if?” Spend time dreaming like we used to as a kid. Don’t get bogged down by reality; use your imagination and hopes to dream something big. 

Look at your calendar and ask yourself, “When can I schedule 30 minutes of ‘dream time’ into my week?” Then follow up and do it. We’d be surprised at what we might come up with. And last point: after you finish your dream time, make sure to write some key points and takeaways down on paper. We don’t have to do this every week. Once in awhile, like every quarter, would be appropriate.

As a leader, I have come to grow in this area. One of my natural strengths is that I can get a lot of things done efficiently and effectively. But if I don’t take the proper care to reflect on my work or my life, I can go through the motions without being an intentional leader that acts with purpose, following their dreams.

So, go on. Dream.

To get the juices flowing, what would be one of your dreams that you could begin planning or executing tomorrow?