When you ask a child what they want to be when they grow up, you will often hear things like astronaut, doctor or professional athlete. Yet, in reality, these career fields are some of the most uncommon. You see, when we are little, we have no fear, nothing that keeps our dreams small. We see what we want to do in life, and we have zero reason to think we could not do it.

But as we grow up, life happens and something changes within us.

We become hardened by the countless “be realistic” or “yeah, right” comments we’ve heard over the years, and we decide our goals are too big or that we are not cut out for such grand things. We decide to settle for something that we see as attainable because we feel it’s safe. We choose career paths that seem “logical” but don’t really pull on our heart strings, as we push our dreams aside out of fear of failure or embarrassment and settle for average.

Nonetheless, life goes on. We may have occasional (or frequent) daydreams about this “fantasy” career choice or life path, yet each time we convince ourselves that we made the better choice because “it probably wouldn’t have worked out anyway.”

But every time this happens, you feel a little sad or even angry depending on the reason you chose not to go that direction with your life. It brings your mood down and can make you question everything. You may feel regret, dissatisfaction with your life, low motivation or even a diminished sense of who you are as a person. Settling for a life that feels unaligned with your passion or purpose can lead to bitterness, jealousy and boredom.

Spoiler alert: None of these feelings are good for your health. They bring stress into your life, dramatically reduce your quality of life and can even foster a sense of depression.

Now, pretend for a second that you had zero limitations and could go after anything you wanted. What would you choose to do with your life? What if I told you that going after those dreams was actually good for your health?

Making the choice to go after the dreams in your head can improve your overall enjoyment of life, give you a sense of purpose and reduce your daily stress from doing a job you have no passion for. It can help boost your motivation, self-esteem, happiness and mental health. And when your mental health is better, you tend to take better care of your physical health. Research suggests that individuals who are more persistent with pursuing their goals and dreams show lower rates of anxiety and depression. Lastly, having a positive outlook while pursuing your dreams can help you build resiliency and improve your sense of well-being and fulfillment in life. So, you can see how it all goes hand in hand.

Some tips for going after your dreams: Set small but achievable goals for yourself on the path to your ultimate goal. If your dream is to start your own business, this could look like talking to other business owners for advice, choosing a name for your business or writing up the mission statement for your business. Doing these “smaller” things can help you feel as though you are moving in the direction of that dream, increase your excitement and motivation and make life more enjoyable along the way.

Be smart with your finances (and your time). Your ultimate dream may be to quit your current job for your dream job, but in the meantime, you still have bills to pay. You can work toward your dream life while continuing your current job, but you may just have to be a bit more strategic with your time.

Don’t be afraid to seek out others who have done what you are aiming to do. If your dream is to write a book, reach out to some other authors and talk about their early days. Or if your dream is to get into fitness, reach out to a trainer who can help guide you along the way.

Also be aware that sometimes the dreams in our head look a bit different in real life, or life circumstances may require us to modify our dreams a little. For instance, if you had children earlier than planned, it does not mean you cannot go to college as you always dreamed of, but it may require adjusting the timeline a bit. There is nothing wrong with this.

On that note, refrain from comparing yourself to others. Just because others around you have already bought a house and started a family does not mean you should feel bad if you haven’t. Each of us is on our own timeline, our own life path. So, embrace where you are in this moment, and start from there. There is no sense in letting comparison steal your joy.

By doing these things and starting to move in the direction of your goals, you will notice your zest for life will start to improve. You will look at things differently and strive to take better care of yourself because you’re finally excited about something again.

The moral of the story here is that keeping your dreams locked up in your head will never help to improve your life — or your health. Going after your dreams will require you to get out of your comfort zone and do some new things, but the payoff will be priceless — you get to experience your dreams coming into reality while improving your health along the way.

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Pretend for a second that you had zero limitations and could go after anything you wanted. What would you choose to do with your life? What if I told you that going after those dreams was actually good for your health?

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