Let’s face it. The saying “dream big” has certainly lost meaning.

There’s nothing wrong with dreaming big but the meaning of the phrase is lost.

And while I do think dreaming is important, I think being intentional is more important. And it is SO important when choosing you and choosing what you want.

Your first choice matters.

The Story

It was the day before NYE and I wanted to treat myself. Being in London for the New Year, I wanted to begin the year with some self-love.

What better way than to indulge in a pamper session I’d never think to indulge in at home?

Now I didn’t want anything too fancy (I hadn’t made reservations) but I wanted to get a hair blowout. I had heard about it from a beauty connoisseur about DryBy London being one of the beauty treatments to have in London and I thought it would be the perfect way to end the year and begin a new one.

P.S. DryBy London is in Harper Bazaar’s Best Blow Dry Bars in London article.

…That being said, it was 1:39 pm on the day before NYE.

So like most people would, we assumed that our number one choice would be fully booked, and researched a second and third choice destination.

Sometimes I think we don’t realize that our thinking isn’t exactly positive.

Because as it so happens, when we found our second choice closed for renovations, we made a last-ditch effort to check DryBy just wanting to see if they could squeeze me/one of my sisters in, by chance, for a blowout.

Not only did they have an opening for me, but they had openings for my sisters as well.

The appointments weren’t at the same time. They were back-to-back, with only an hour before the first appointment, but they had openings…on the day before New Years Eve, in the middle of the afternoon.

Something we never would have known if we didn’t try.

And it was our first choice.

The Lesson

I think sometimes we limit ourselves and lower our dreams—not just in our lives for the “big” things, but for little things—for the vacation stops and the restaurants that are normally too busy—just because of thinking that isn’t necessarily negative, but is rarely positive or hopeful. 

We weren’t neglecting what we wanted, but strategizing based on reality.

And it’s sad when the problem holding us back is ourselves.

The Takeaway

It’s a month into the new year and I think that we could remind ourselves to be intentional with hope, to set our minds to believe we can do things we’ve dreamed of doing, and to live a life where we are amazed at the things we are given just because we’ve asked.

If I learned anything that day, it was that I needed to dream more, hope more, and be intentional in the process.

I mean, what’s the point in living a life of choosing to settle for second when we could have first?

Related: 3 Ways to Add Intentionality to Your Travels.

Being intentional is something I love doing when I travel. Being mindful and celebrating who we are is so important when we leave our comfort zones. I’d love to hear any tips you have about being intentional or any thoughts you may have.