Stop Setting Goals — They’re Boring: It’s Time to Dream Again for Real Personal Growth

No, that's the problem, is that we've forgotten about our dreams.

We've forgotten about the things that really and truly matter, what our North Star should be.

And inside of today's episode, we're going to have you dreaming again.

Now, I'm going to promise three specific takeaways by the end of today's episode.

First, I want to give you relief.

Relief from the judgment that you carry with you, the anxiety that you're loaded with headed into the new year.

I want to eliminate all of that.

Second, I want to give you a completely new way to think about planning out your year.

Instead of focusing on goals and resolutions, instead, figuring out how to allow your dreams to guide your way.

And third, I want to give you a simple framework to help you reconnect with those dreams that maybe you've forgotten about.

Maybe when I ask you the simple question of what are your dreams?

and you don't have an answer.

Well, that framework is going to help you figure it out.

We're going to break it down, simplify it, because I want you to leave today's episode feeling encouraged, feeling inspired, motivated.

Like, you know what?

This is going to be my year because I am dreaming again.

So, my friend, that is what is inside of today's 428th episode of Grit Grace and Inspiration.

But real quick, before we get there, in case we have not met, my name is Kevin Lowe.

I am the creator and host of Grit Grace and Inspiration.

But more specifically, I like to say I'm just another guy on this journey of life, trying to figure it out along the way.

Now, my mission is to use what I've gone through, which I unexpectedly woke up from a life-saving surgery back when I was 17 to be left completely blind.

Yes, newsflash.

If you didn't know that I was blind, now you do.

I have been blind now for over 22 years.

And to be honest, my whole mission in life is to just use what I've gone through, to use the lessons I've learned to hopefully be a benefit to you.

That's what I want.

It's just to use what I've gone through to make a difference in someone else's life.

So, my friend, that's what I'm here for.

If you're out for it, well then welcome along for the ride.

This is episode 428 of Grit Race and Inspiration.

My friend, it is the beginning of the year.

We are only two weeks into 2026.

And all the rage right now is that what is your New Year's resolution?

What is your goal for the year?

Well, my friend, you know what the difference is between a goal and a New Year's resolution?

A New Year's resolution is just a goal with nicer clothes.

Yes, there's that saying you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig.

And so you can fancy up your New Year's resolution however you want, but at the end of the day, it's just another goal.

We're just goal setting, not for the short term, but instead for the entire year, wrapped into one single idea, concept.

Maybe it's a single word, a theme.

I have done that myself.

Or maybe it's something way more specific.

But anyway you look at it, it's basically just another goal.

Today, we are not goal setting, we are not setting New Year's resolutions, we are dreaming.

And the reason we are dreaming, the reason I feel this is so important, it's the reason why I've switched focus from the idea of setting goals and New Year's resolutions, is that when life happens, when life gets in the way, when things that we thought were a guarantee, when things that we thought were essential, or maybe we're just always there, when those things are taken away, you know what's left?

It's the dreams we have.

It's our faith, it's our family, it's our dreams, our ideas.

Those are what are left.

Those are what truly matter in life.

And so today we're focusing on the aspect of dreaming.

Now, real quick, before we dive into the heart of this topic, I do want to encourage you that I have created a free resource that is made just for you.

And it's called the Grit, Grace, and Inspiration Life Guide.

I basically went through our episode catalog, picked out a few of the best episodes that I felt could be a benefit to you, and put them together in a really beautiful PDF document that you can download.

Now, I know PDF document, it sounds lame, but I'm telling you, it's useful.

I got it broken down into what you might be going through, struggling with, need help with, and I have it narrowed down to a few episodes that are going to be able to help you out.

So please be sure to click the link at the top of today's show notes, and that will get you access to the Grit, Grace, and Inspiration Life Guide, all designed to help you make this year the best year ever.

Okay, now back to the idea of dreaming.

So we've gotten it out of our system, this idea of needing a goal or a New Year's resolution, and instead we're focusing on dreaming.

And the reason why I believe dreaming is so vitally important is the simple fact that dreams aren't practical.

Rarely are they realistic, but the truth is, is they're magnetic.

They give us excitement in our life, they give us direction, they give us hope.

And my friend, hope is one of the most powerful tools any of us can use.

Hope for a better tomorrow.

Hope for a better year.

And if we need to have something to aim for, it should be a dream, not a goal.

A goal is too little, it's too small.

A new year's resolution, an idea for the year, it's limiting.

A dream is massive, it's big.

It is exactly the kind of thing that we should be aiming for, that should be directing us forward.

It's the big picture.

If you're putting together a jigsaw puzzle, do you just want to be shown a section of what the picture looks like?

Or do you want to see the entire picture so that you know what you're building?

So you understand what it's supposed to look like.

Of course, you want to see the whole thing.

You don't just want to see a little piece of it.

So today we're talking about dreaming big, big dreams, not little dreams.

We're not putting restrictions on these dreams, we're going big because this is the direction for not just this year, but maybe for the rest of your life.

Or at least until that dream is either fulfilled or no longer fits.

Understanding that dreaming can seem a little bit daunting if you've not allowed yourself to dream lately.

Well, I want to get real and honest with you and give you some examples of some of my own dreams.

My own dream list.

Yes, before I even thought about creating this podcast episode, I actually did this very exercise for myself.

I sat down and I really got real on what are some of my big dreams?

And so I'm gonna share them with the hope that you understand they're just my own dreams.

I don't want them to influence what your dreams are.

I hope you don't judge me in thinking that my dreams are lame or boring.

They're my dreams.

And because it's my podcast and I like to be real and honest with you, I'm gonna share them with you.

So the first thing that I have on my big dream list is traveling across the United States in an RV.

Yes, nothing glorious, nothing amazing.

I'm not talking about a trip around the world, which, yeah, there's a lot of places around the world I want to visit.

But one of my big dreams is literally to just take however long it takes and get to explore this country that I live in.

I live here in Florida.

I want to go to places I've never gone before, to experience parts of this very country I live in that I call my own.

I want to get to experience them.

And I feel like the best way to do it is traveling by car, staying at campgrounds around the country.

My second dream is I want to have enough success in my life that I can financially support my family, specifically thinking about my parents, even my sister.

They've all done so much for me.

They've given me everything.

After going blind, everything in my world changed.

And not only do I deal with blindness, but I have other medical issues that I deal with.

And life isn't easy.

There's been times I've been in the hospital, in the ICU.

My family didn't know if I would even make it.

And they've stayed by my side every single step of the way.

And so, yeah, on my big dream list, so I would love to be able to find enough success in my endeavors.

Right now, my endeavor is aimed at public speaking as an inspirational speaker.

I want to be able to support them financially so that they don't have to worry about what the future holds.

Third on my list of dreams and goals, in no specific order, mind you, is I want to get married.

Yes, I have dreams of being married, of having a family.

Now, I don't know if that means I actually will ever have children of my own, but I at least want to have a wife.

I want to have a family.

Whether maybe she already has kids, maybe I don't know, adopting kids.

I don't know.

But right now, I feel like first I need to start with a wife, and then that could turn into a marriage if we can go from there.

Number four on my list of big dreams is just something totally out of the blue and just kind of fun.

I thought, you know what?

After something as serious as talking about marriage, we need something fun.

And I would love to get to fly on a private jet, you know, like the rock stars do.

How cool would that be?

And my last little dream on my big dream list is I would love to get to be a guest on a morning talk show.

I grew up watching The Today Show or Good Morning America.

And I don't know exactly what it would look like, what we would be talking about, but I would love to get to be a guest on one of those shows.

I actually, as a kid, always thought that it would be an amazing career to be the host on one of these morning talk shows.

So that again went on my big dream list.

Again, like I said, some of these dreams maybe seem like they could happen.

Some of them seem a little outrageous, but they're all deeply meaning and personal to me.

And that's why I'm sharing them.

Because I want to be sure that you understand what I'm talking about here.

This isn't just for pretend for play.

No, I actually want you to really get serious and think: what do I truly want out of my life?

What do I want to happen?

Maybe you have big dreams in your career.

Maybe you have big dreams in your personal life.

I want you to think about what you truly want out of life.

Not just this year, but out of the rest of your time here on Earth.

None of us know how long we're here for.

So it's up to us to be sure that every day we truly do what we can to live it out loud.

So now, after sharing my big dream list, let's get down to yours.

But maybe you don't know what your dreams are.

Well, that's what we're gonna help you figure out right now.

I want to make this as simple as possible.

And to do so, I want you to break down your life into four quadrants, four sections.

The first section that we're gonna focus on is travel.

Yeah, baby, I am all about travel.

Heck, I was a travel agent for like seven years before I ever started this podcast.

So if fear, if money, if logistics, if common sense was not on the table, what would you love to do in terms of travel?

Where would you love to go?

What would you love to do?

Would you maybe love to do a hot air balloon over the Serengeti at sunrise?

Maybe you have dreams of getting to see the penguins in Antarctica.

Maybe you would just love to go on a cruise, to let loose, to just hang out in the Caribbean for a week.

What are your dreams, your big dreams in relation to traveling?

Section number two, relationships.

What would healthy, fulfilling, meaningful relationships look like in your life?

Are you looking to meet somebody that you might hope like me could become your spouse one day?

Or maybe could you just really use some friends?

Your friend situation is looking a little bleak here lately.

What is it for you?

What goals do you have in relation to relationships, your involvement with other people?

Section number three in this little piece of our goals is your career.

And I guess what I would ask you here is are you happy in your career?

Is it fulfilling you?

Is it giving you the lifestyle that you want?

Or is it maybe making life a little too restrictive?

Are you not making enough money to do the things that you want to do?

And I guess if it isn't checking those boxes, what would you like to do?

What did you think that you wanted to do as a child?

A lot of times, when we're not sure, if we go back to what we thought about as a child, sometimes that can be a great starting point.

Now I get it.

Sometimes it can be a little no longer applicable because maybe as a kid we were into one specific thing.

I know for myself, I grew up wishing to be a professional dirt bike rider.

Obviously, um, going blind definitely hindered that dream from ever happening.

But again, it is a starting point if you're having a little bit of difficulty.

If maybe you're not in a point in your life where you are happy in your career, maybe you need to start dreaming a little, thinking back to what some of those dreams were as a kid, what you wrote down in fifth grade that you were gonna be when you grew up.

And then our fourth quadrant is your personal health.

And you can do that both physical health and mental health.

A way to think about this is who is the version of you that you wish you could be?

Is there maybe things happening in life that have you not laughing as much?

That has you not getting out and doing things as much with people, with friends?

Is it because of either stresses and anxieties?

Is it due to own physical limitations?

Maybe for you, you wish you were healthier, more grounded, more present.

The fact is true, is you don't need all the answers.

You don't need to know how you're gonna get there, how to achieve it.

What I want you to do is start dreaming.

What do you wish for yourself?

What do you want out of your life?

I want you to write it down.

I want you to get clear on all four of these areas of your life and create your big dream list.

Again, emphasis on big.

These are big dreams, not little dreams, not little goals.

These are dreams, the big stuff, the things that you think will never happen.

That is exactly what goes on this list.

Now, the whole reason we're doing this is well, to focus on making this the best year ever, guiding you forward by having a true North Star, which is your dreams, not just little goals or New Year's resolutions.

And when we allow our dreams to lead the way, this is what happens.

The decisions you make, they're guided by a vision, not pressure.

Your days, the actions you take, they feel meaningful.

They have purpose behind them.

You get to wake up in the morning, feel excited because you are chasing after your dreams.

You get to start being excited again.

Yes, my friend, feeling excited, I believe that is a secret ingredient to life that we are all missing so much of the time, is simply being excited.

We forget about the joy of excitement.

Again, we think of that as something for children, for people who don't have the kind of responsibilities that you have.

No, my friend, excitement is something that you need to have, you have to have in your life.

And by you starting today on getting clear on your big dreams, that is gonna help give you excitement in life again.

And my friend, that alone is gonna help to make this year like no other.

So, my friend, what I'm here to tell you as I wrap up today's episode is the simple truth.

If you've been allowing each year to start with a new year's resolution, if you've been moving forward through the year by setting goals, I encourage you at this point in time, whether you're listening to this episode right when it comes out here at the start of the new year, or maybe it's on down the line, start today to start dreaming again, to get out a piece of paper, to bust out a word doc on the computer and write down your big dreams for your life.

Again, if they seem far-fetched and like they'll never happen, then that means that they deserve a spot on this list.

I am encouraging you to create your big dream list.

It is going to be the thing that guides you forward and that has you creating the life that you've always wished you could have.

So, my friend, let us make today be the day that we all commit to start dreaming again.

All thanks to this idea of ditching the New Year's resolution, saying audios to goal setting, how lame, and instead start dreaming and dreaming big.

I'm your host, Kevin Lowe, and this was another episode of Grit Grace and Inspiration.

My friend, if there is somebody in your life who you think really needs to hear this message, well, please be sure to share today's episode with them.

Tell them grit, grace, and inspiration, they are doing something radical.

They are skipping the New Year's resolution and jumping right into the stuff that truly matters, like dreaming once again.

My friend, until next week, get out there and make that big dream list.