Free Essay with a Literature Review on Dreams and Reality

Literature Review on Dreams and Reality

Introduction

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The word dream has two different meanings. The first meaning is a nightly gift whereby a person experiences a succession of ideas that are visualized in image form and punctuated with emotions and sensations. This sequence is controlled by the subconscious mind and occurs during sleep. The second definition: a desire to achieve set goals or targets, which brings me to my second word – goal. A goal is a dream with a set deadline. This type of dream happens when one is awake and needless to say; it is controlled by the conscious part of the mind. I am interested in the second type of dream, and thus, this paper will expound on the second type of dream and conduct a literature review of what dreams entail.

America has always been known as the land of opportunities. However, these opportunities do not always come on a silver platter, they come to those who are bold enough to dream and perceive them. Windows of opportunities are everywhere but it takes a dreamer to realize an opportunity promptly and utilize it. It needs one to be on his or her toes to make the opportunity. America is one of the few countries that believe in dreams, recognize talents and nurture them at a young age. It is referred as the free world where anyone is dared to dream and dreams are made realities. There is power in this aspect of promoting dreams and gives the country an upper hand as far as success and dreams come true are concerned.

Hypothesis

For a dream to be made a reality, there has to be several factors in play such as mindset, motivation, resources and a definite plan. What is the impact of these factors in dream actualization? (Non-Directional)

Of all the factors that determine the success rate of dreams, the most important ones are motivation, passion and mindset. In short, they have a lot to do with the intrinsic factors rather than the extrinsic ones. Are intrinsic factors more important than extrinsic ones in dream actualization? (Directional)

In the event of setting goals and dreams, it is important that one evaluates the capacity to achieve them to avoid frustrations. How important is dream evaluation? (Directional, secondary hypothesis)

Literature Review

1. Shadoian, J. (2003). Dreams & dead ends. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

In the introduction, the author views dreams as universal. Every human being has desires. In fact, it is very human to have desires. Desires push us to stretch our limits, to be creative, innovative and dedicated to a course so that we can fulfill them. Desires motivate us to explore our potentials and do more than just the average in an attempt of accomplishing them. Safe to say, people do what they do to achieve their dreams. Shadoian asserts that dreams do not follow a one-size-fits-all kind of criterion, and they differ from person to person.

· Participants and Methodology

Participants used by Shadoian were street children with no resources to accomplish their dreams. They were selected in a random manner and each interviewed about their dreams.

· Results and Findings

In his research, the author came up with the following findings: Dreams vary with age, size, location, motivation, gender, time and even purpose. The happiest people in life, according to Shadoian, are the ones who stay dedicated to their dreams and give their all to achieve them. Nevertheless, most times people mistake dreams by adding the aspect of competition. They become so focused on competing with others that they forget they have their dreams to chase which may or may not necessarily be the same as others. In the pursuit to be ahead of everyone, they end up losing track of their dreams by switching lanes. I think the most important thing in achieving a dream sticking to you own lane and focusing on what needs to be done to get there.

There is a plethora of work supporting the idea that several factors are necessary for the conversion of dreams into reality but mindset and motivation supersede them all.

2. Balu, L. (1997). Believe in your dreams, not in your fears. Pittsburgh, Pa.: Dorrance Pub. Co.

Balu states that to achieve your dreams or rather to make them a reality you have to believe in them. You have to tune your mindset to be in sync with your dreams. The modern society is so obsessed with the standard way of life. It has set objectives and a myth of what a successful life is like. If you ask anyone, it is going to school, acquiring a degree and raising a family; that is the basic definition of success.

· Participants and Methodology

Participants used by the researcher were university students and each was asked about their dreams and what the system was doing in response to the same.

· Results and Findings

From his findings, Balu is in no objection to the system and this way of life, but affirms that the problem is that it does not give allowance to people’s dreams. This myth standardizes everyone and sets their dreams to academic excellence by default. Now, what is so wrong about this way of life?

3. Grant, A. & Grant, G. (2012). Who killed creativity? and how do we get it back?. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Blackwell.

· Participants and Methodology

Participants used in this research were scholars pursuing various degrees. They were presented with questionnaires to fill and personal interviews conducted.

· Results and Findings

From the research, Grant finds that the current system of education as misguided because it does not give into account dreams and goals. This is what the system does to students and their dreams. Each student has different dreams and different dreams require different roads to achieve them. Grant asserts that education is just one way of achieving dreams, but the society has made it look like it is the only way dreams are achieved which is very wrong and misguided.

For more people to achieve their dreams, this mindset should be done away with and adjusted to accommodate various dreams of different students. Every human being is unique and created in God’s image, so the good book says. Albert Einstein went ahead and said that everyone is a genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will forever think it is stupid.

4. Knapp, G. (2007). Building the American dream. Bloomington, IN: Author House.

This author supports the idea that we are what we dream. He stresses that an individual and his dreams are not two separate entities but rather a single one. A person’s dreams do more than just motivate him; they shape his or her behavior, their time allocation and perspective about life in general. It is for this reason that the author encourages everyone to dream big.

· Participants and Methodology

This researcher used the general public, patterns and trends to prove his hypothesis.

Secondary sources were also used and patterns deduced.

· Results and Findings

A dream should not be limited by the current ability to achieve it but rather motivated by the desire to fulfill it. He appreciates the beauty of humble beginnings and persistence as a great virtue of dreams accomplishment. Speaking your dreams out is a way of familiarizing yourself and the world with it. Psychologically, this goes a long way into achieving your dreams.

5. Assaraf, J. (2014). Having it all. New York: Atria Books.

The author considers passion as a significant factor towards dreams achievement. He says that if you can dream it, then you can make it. Just like Shadoian, Assaraf also affirms that believing in your dreams and working towards achieving them is imperative. However, Assaraf goes a step ahead and encourages people to love their dreams. Where passion is factored in, achieving becomes easy. To him, dreams should entail of things you love doing. For instance, one can have a talent in music yet have a passion for dancing. According to this author, the latter should be pursued. The good thing about loving what you do is that you will never feel obliged to do so. You will achieve your dreams with minimum effort because the self-motivation and passion come from within. It is very easy to succeed at something you love than in something you have to. For this reason, the author advises that wherever you go or whatever you pursue, do it with all your heart.

6. O'Neill, J., Conzemius, A., Commodore, C., & Pulsfus, C. (2006). The Power of SMART goals. Bloomington, Ind.: Solution Tree Press.

Unlike the authors reviewed above, this one came with a different perspective of dreams. The view is not meant to motivate you into achieving your dreams but rather to be smart about them. It is good to have big dreams and work towards achieving them. However, he instructs that failing to meet them can be quite frustrating. Therefore, in order to avert possible frustrations as a result of failed dreams; he instructs us to have smart dreams. Smart dreams are simple, measurable, achievable, realistic and timed dreams. A simple dream is easier to achieve and achieving one simple dream motivates you to face more complex dreams. A dream should be measurable; for instance being rich is not a measurable dream but earning a million dollars annually is. It is easier to monitor a measurable dream. Realistic dreams are ones that are achievable. Setting very high bars even when one is sure he or she does not have the resources to achieve such dreams is not realistic. Finally, a dream should have a set deadline.

Conclusion

From the review of the six books, the evidence gained supports my thesis that most factors do affect the conversion of a dream into reality but motivation and mindset play a significant role.

References

Assaraf, J. (2014). Having it all. New York: Atria Books.

Balu, L. (1997). Believe in your dreams, not in your fears. Pittsburgh, Pa.: Dorrance Pub. Co.

Grant, A. & Grant, G. (2012). Who killed creativity? & how do we get it back?. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley-Blackwell.

Knapp, G. (2007). Building the American dream. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse.

O'Neill, J., Conzemius, A., Commodore, C., & Pulsfus, C. (2006). The Power of SMART goals. Bloomington, Ind.: Solution Tree Press.

Shadoian, J. (2003). Dreams & dead ends. Oxford: Oxford University Press.