"You have to make it happen."

Have you ever been in a situation where you had an idea or even a daydream, and nothing happened? Maybe it's one of these ideas:

- You need to make your peanut butter.

- You want to run a marathon.

- You have a fantastic idea for a novel!

And then nothing happens. When something is out of reach, it sucks that you can't do anything about it. When things don't go according to plan, sometimes all we can do is stop being so hard on ourselves and take the disappointments in stride.

But let's say you have your idea with a written plan to get the idea out of your brain and into the world. Maybe you have a novel in mind or a plan to start your own company (or perhaps both!). But then again, it may not work out. I've had some ideas before, but only one of them ever materialized into something concrete. I wrote a long post about that idea earlier this month. 

There was no concrete way I could follow through on the plan (beyond being patient), so this was one of those "situations" where I had to take things in stride.

Let me guess: you've probably had that same experience. You've had an idea that you can't get out of your head or that a significant life change (marriage, job, move) is taking a long time to happen. Or maybe there's something more mundane involving the rigors of everyday life.

It's okay to have ideas like these!

Our minds are capable of much more than we give them credit for. And with the intellectual and technological advances in recent years, it's just one small step away from being able to make the ideas a reality with our own hands. I'm not talking about big, world-changing ideas - the kinds of things that other people worry about and make plans for. I'm talking about you and your ideas.

You have to make it happen! I don't care if it's an idea to write a novel or start a business, if you've dreamed of relocating or getting married, or anything else on your bucket list. You need to follow through with your ideas. If you want them bad enough, you'll find a way.

I don't mean any offense by this; I'm just trying to understand how important the idea is in itself, not what it leads to later. The picture doesn't have to be something huge or even necessary. It could be as simple as deciding what you'd like to eat for dinner if that makes it easier for you to visualize. When an idea is stuck in your brain, it's a nagging feeling. You already know that you need to do something about it; you're just unsure what or how. 

Or maybe the idea is so great and exciting that you try to tell everyone and anyone about it - but instead of getting encouragement, you get turned down and discouraged for even trying in the first place. So stop worrying about the future and follow through on what you want. Don't allow the end to be your excuse for not doing anything about it.

Imagine how disappointed someone would be if they had a dream, but all they could do was sit around and wait for it to come true instead of making it happen. That's pointless, don't you think?  And that's why sometimes all we can do is take the disappointments in stride. Just as it's good to accept that some things take time, we need to get that sometimes something good isn't going to happen immediately - or even at all. And that's okay.

I was disappointed when the idea I had to write a novel didn't materialize into anything tangible. Still, when that happened, it made me realize how important the view was. Knowing it wouldn't work out eliminated the worry and regret of not following through. It allowed me to have fun, inspire others' ideas, and take other creative steps in my life without feeling bad about it. You're doing just fine if you make an effort anyway.

Imagine what would happen if you let yourself give up on your dreams and your goals like someone already did once before you. How could you explain what happened if they asked you? My guess: you'd probably say it was a long, drawn-out process, but not a lot of specifics. Why? Because when something happens, we don't think about the little details that lead up to it. 

We accept them as facts - "I did this. Then I did that." But in actuality, most things happen in slow steps (but fast enough so that we don't notice). Sometimes, we make mistakes or change our minds along the way; other times, every step is perfect, and we have no regrets.  There's always time to improve upon the idea later on. It's okay for things to be complicated.

I'll admit that the idea of starting a business is something I worry about constantly. It's one of the reasons why I'm not doing anything with it yet (I've changed my mind a few times over the years). But even though that worry is still there, I know several people who have started businesses or started their creative projects and succeeded.

When you have an idea, don't try to follow through on it right away without any problems or obstacles because you're probably in for some frowns and setbacks along the way.

CONCLUSION

I hope you feel inspired by these ideas about what happens when a picture is stuck in your head. As an observer of my own experiences, I know that sometimes the most challenging part is just putting yourself into action. If you get stuck at this point, decide to take action anyway. Once you've done so, use the time and energy it takes to see what happens. That matters if it's something good - even if it doesn't work out. Your persistence will pay off in the end anyway.  And if not, at least you'll have made an effort, no matter how small that may be.