“Doubters are just dreamers with broken hearts.” – Atticus

Why do we dream? Why do we doubt? In the tension between dreaming of what could be and doubting those same possibilities lies a valley of broken hearts. For every Little Engine that Could saying, “I think I can, I think I can,” is a former-dreamer-turned-cynic saying, “Probably not.”

Why do dreamers become doubters in the first place? It’s because of failure.

Doubters allow failure to define their future instead of repositioning their past. Doubters allow disappointment to constrict their hope for tomorrow. “It didn’t work now; why will it ever work in the future?” Doubters see broken engagements, job firings, failed startups, abandoned causes, even abandoned faith, and think that failure is the ultimate end-all of dreamers.

That sounds depressing, right? Is there hope for doubters? What if doubters could be dreamers again?

I’ve seen a lot of failure in my thirty years of living. I’ve “failed” plenty of times, more than I care to remember.

I’ve also seen dreams come to life. I see people every week who defy the odds and embrace new opportunity. We dream because we believe the best is yet to come. We start new ventures, take new first steps, even begin new stories because we believe in a Heavenly Father who gives good, even great gifts to His kids.

Turning doubts into dreams again

One of the biggest reasons why people doubt is because we’ve been told to lower expectations. “Life is full of disappointments,” “You’ll never have enough,” “That’s just how life is sometimes,” “Quit setting the bar so high.” These are the voices of people who have learned to settle, to expect less out of life.

Life is richer, deeper, and more powerful when we dream. If your own life is distorted towards doubting your own dreams, you’re not alone. You’re also not a lost cause.

Turning your doubts into dreams again is about seeing God-given possibilities as exactly that: gifts from God. Take your opportunities. Start that class. Make that call. Go on that first date. Send that email. Schedule that meeting. Draft that book. Rally for that cause. Start your new business.

Your dreams are powerful. Let your possibilities stretch beyond what you think is possible because that’s where dreams call home. May you turn your “probably not’s” into “what could be” and may you dream again.