I’ve done it. I’m sure you have too. You get a great idea and dive right in. Somewhere along the way, you chip away at your enthusiasm until one day you suddenly realize you haven’t pursued that thing in quite a while. You quit.

That’s fine if you started watching season one of Castle or took belly dancing lessons. There comes a time when those things naturally come to an end. But when it comes to quitting your writing dream, it will leave you empty and utterly unhappy.

There are any number of reasons why individuals throw in the towel on their pursuits, but here are ones I have found to be the top five:

Fear. Living your dream is exhilarating, but it is also frightening. Some can push through the fear but many succumb to it. But it’s critical to get beyond the fear. That’s why I wrote Facing Fear and Finding Freedom.

Habit. If reasons could be sentenced to prison, Habit would be serving on death row for killing dreams. As humans, we typically revert to what we have always done the moment things get just a little challenging. What we’ve always done easy, familiar and requires no instructions. But if that could get you where you want to be, you would have already been there.

Voices. They are constantly causing you to second guess your dreams. They’ll remind you of past failures and give you at least a bazillion reasons why your dream can’t work. Doen’t matter whether the voices tell the truth or not. You sit and listen, taking it all in like it was the gospel.

Influence. Someone really important to you in your life tells you the dream you want to pursue is frivolous or even idiotic. They mean well—at least most of the time—but they can be dream wreckers. So what if your entire family is made up of attorneys? If you’d rather be a park ranger, then you owe it to yourself to do what you want to do. They’ll get over it… or not.

Discipline. Or really lack of it. Living your dream is not like watching a good movie on your big screen TV. The most you’d have to do in that endeavor is adjust your recliner chair to the comfort position and push “play”. Pursuing your dream is always challenging, tiring, frustrating. But it also is rewarding, fulfilling and a whole lot of fun. You owe it to yourself to get into the habit of working toward your dream each and every day.

Your writing dream should never be taken lightly. You should pursue it with every fiber of your being. It’s the only way you’ll be fully satisfied in life. You deserve it. The world needs it. Don’t disappoint. Live your dream!

What is your dream? Are you pursuing it? If not, why not? If so, what challenges to you face? Leave a comment!