There’s a quote I come back to again and again, especially when a new year is around the
corner. It’s from leadership author John C. Maxwell, and it reads:
“If your habits don’t line up with your dream, then you need to either change your habits or change your dream.”
It’s blunt, but it’s true. And every time I read it, it hits a little differently, sometimes as a gentle nudge; sometimes as a quiet wake-up call.
We all have dreams. Some are big and sparkly. Some are small and personal. Some we whisper only to ourselves in the early morning before the day gets
noisy.
And yet, even the dreams we want with all our hearts can drift further away when the little everyday choices don’t match the direction we say we want to go.
It’s not about discipline or perfection. It’s about alignment...what we say we want and what we actually do.
The Soft Discomfort of Realizing You’re Out of Alignment
We all
know that feeling. You have a dream simmering in the back of your mind, but your habits… well, they're telling a different story.
Maybe you want calmer mornings, but you’re scrolling in bed until the last possible minute.
Maybe you love the idea of a tidy, peaceful home, but you keep letting paper pile up on the counter.
Maybe you want more energy, but meals come from snacks grabbed in between everything else.
Nothing is “wrong.” You’re just living in a gap between where you are and where you want to be.
And that gap has a feeling. A tug. A
mismatch.
Maxwell’s quote isn’t meant to judge us. It’s meant to call our attention to the crossroads:
Am I willing to change what I do? Or is this dream not actually mine
anymore? Either direction brings clarity. Both bring relief.
Changing Your Habits Isn’t About Reinventing Yourself
This is the part that gets overcomplicated. Changing habits sounds big and dramatic, but most habits shift in tiny, almost
invisible ways.
If you want a more organized home, maybe it’s spending 30 seconds putting things back instead of leaving them “for later.”
If you want better health, maybe it’s starting your morning with water before anything else.
And if you want a less chaotic schedule, maybe it’s saying no to the things you always say yes to without thinking.
You don’t have to overhaul your life to support your dream. You just have to make small choices that point in the same direction.
Every tiny shift is a quiet vote for what you
want.
But Sometimes… the Dream Needs Adjusting
This is the part we rarely talk about, but it’s just as important. Sometimes the dream you set years ago isn’t the dream you want today. Maybe it doesn’t fit your life anymore. Maybe it was
rooted in who you used to be.
Maybe it was based on someone else’s expectations. Or maybe it was a dream you were excited about at one time, but the version of you today has grown past it.
There is no shame in changing your dream. Rewriting it. Resizing it. Or gently letting an old one go. It’s clarity, not failure.
And when you release a dream that’s no longer yours, you suddenly get room to breathe...and room to grow toward
something that truly lights you up.
Alignment Is the Real Goal
You don’t need perfect habits. You don’t need flawless follow-through. You don’t need to be “on” every day. You just need alignment. Your choices quietly supporting the life
you want.
It doesn’t have to be dramatic. It just has to feel true.
When your habits and your dream line up, even loosely, you feel it.
There’s a sense of ease. A sense of momentum. A sense of, “Yes. I’m actually moving toward something that matters to me.”
And that’s the whole point.
Because dreams aren’t meant to sit on a shelf.
They’re meant to guide you, stretch you, and inspire habits that make life feel fuller and more aligned.
So take a moment today to check
in:
Does the dream still fit?
Do the habits support it?
And what tiny shift could bring them closer together?
One small step is enough. And it can change everything.
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