JoeyJoelle

We all have that one big dream—to live the vision that was instilled in us. The freedom, the confidence, the love, the success. We daydream about it, we journal about it, we might even pray for it. But when it comes down to actually stepping into it? We hesitate, delay, or unknowingly sabotage ourselves.

Don’t be ashamed, you’re not alone. Hi, my name is Joey and I’m a great planner and a horrible action taker. I love making vision boards for all the things I want to achieve. I think I have about 7 different planners where I started creating my content calendar so I would post more consistently. Not to mention, I have about 150 blogposts in my drafts. But when it comes to actually doing the damned thing?

And what are goals without action?

So, I hit up my girl Zora (ChatGPT) & asked her to keep it 100 with me —no filter—as to what could be the reasons that are blocking me from turning my dreams into reality. And here’s what we got.

The Fear of Expansion

The truth is, stepping into your highest self requires expansion. But expansion is uncomfortable. It asks you to shed the habits, mindsets, and environments that have kept you small. And let’s be real—sometimes, we’re more comfortable in the smallness we know than the greatness we don’t.

We say we want love, but do we truly open our hearts? We want financial freedom, but do we trust ourselves with money? We crave confidence, yet we shrink when the spotlight turns our way. It’s not that we don’t want these things—it’s that we fear who we have to become to have them.

The Habits That Keep Us Stuck

We don’t just block our dreams with fear. We block them with our daily actions (or lack of them). Procrastination, waiting for the “perfect moment,” staying in comfort zones that no longer serve us—it’s all a way of keeping things just as they are.

Think about it: How often do we delay taking action on something we say we truly desire? We say we’re waiting for the right time, more money, or better circumstances. But in reality, we’re waiting to feel ready. And truth is? We’ll never truly feel ready. We become ready by moving, by showing up even when we’re uncertain, by aligning our daily choices with what we claim to want.

 Playing Small in Disguise

Another way we unconsciously push our dreams away? We hide ourselves.

Not always in big, obvious ways, but in the small compromises that add up over time. Shrinking in spaces where we should take up room. Keeping what we want to ourselves instead of speaking on it and never actually shifting to make it real.

There are days where I fully embody confidence, but mostly in places where people can’t see me or I disappear in a crowd. When it comes to taking steps that require becoming more visible, I shy away under the disguise of being an introvert.

Sometimes, playing small is wrapped up in self-protection. If we don’t go all in, we don’t risk failing, right? But what if the real failure is never stepping into what we’re truly capable of?

Now, did this post make you feel uncomfortable?

Yes?

Good.

I felt very uncomfortable reading all these things that I’ve (unconsciously)been doing, even though I knew she was right.

Growth lives in discomfort, and if you felt seen or even slightly called out, that means there’s room for alignment—and that’s powerful.

But don’t worry, I’m not gonna leave you in the black hole. Stay tuned for the next post, where we’ll talk about the actual steps you can take to stop planning and start acting like the version of you who already has it all.

It’s time for us to move different.