#46: Start Dreaming Again: A Mini-Workshop to Rediscover What You Really Want

Your companion guide for this special episode 👇

Start Dreaming Again: 3 Gentle Steps to Rediscover What You Really Want

Here’s the thing no one tells you about “figuring out your dreams”…
You don’t actually think your way there.
You feel your way back.

This episode isn’t about setting goals or chasing productivity.
It’s a gentle, coaching-style mini-workshop designed to help you wake up the part of you that still wants something — even if that something feels blurry, buried, or completely out of reach right now.

I’ll walk you through the exact reflection process I used to uncover three dreams I didn’t expect to name — and share how AI (yes, really) can act like a personal coach when you use it in the right way.

You’ll also get access to the free companion guide:
Start Dreaming Again: 3 Gentle Steps to Rediscover What You Really Want
👉 Download it right here!

Whether you’re feeling stuck, burned out, or just unsure what’s next… this episode is your invitation to come home to what lights you up.

3 TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE
1️⃣ You can stay close to a dream without doing anything about it yet — connection is a form of progress.
2️⃣ The process of dreaming again can be as healing as the dream itself.
3️⃣ Your most meaningful dreams often start by noticing what tugs at your heart (not what makes the most sense on paper).

🎧 If you've been wondering what you want — or if you’re even allowed to want something more — this is your safe space to remember what you want.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE START DREAMING AGAIN GUIDE

Check out all my coaching and course offerings - Coachcarlene.com

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Episode Website 

Transcript

Speaker 3 0:01

You're never too busy, too tired, too old, or too anything to pursue your dreams. Welcome to the Distracted Dreamer Podcast, where you'll learn how to move all those never ending distractions aside and chase your dreams with confidence.

0:24

Well, hello. It is your friend and host Carlene, and I am so glad that you're here with me today so that we can spend some time together because it really is such an honor to spend time with you. And if you're a new listener, welcome, welcome to the Distracted Dreamer family. And I'm so glad that you're here and I'm particularly glad that you're listening right now to this episode today'cause it's kind of special. And if you know somebody who needs a little nudge and a big dose of clarity around their dreams, will you please share this episode with them? I know that they would be so grateful that you thought of them and that you cared about them to share this. Now, this episode, by the way, it's a little bit different from the normal episodes that are here on the Distracted Dreamer Podcast because what you're listening to today. I have designed specifically as a workshop to help you rediscover your dreams and to gain the clarity and the courage to claim what you really want. Workshops are my love language. I love to design and create them because it's just a way for me to engage with you differently and do a little more and go the extra distance. In this episode is so important because I personally think that the reason why so many people feel stuck or unsatisfied, or even a little lost in their life is because you don't know what your dreams are. And when you don't know what your dreams are, you don't know what direction you wanna head in. And the other reason why this matters today is because if you don't know what you dream about, then you likely don't know what you value or you prioritize, or you've just simply forgotten. So getting clear about what your dreams are is the very first step to everything really, and asking yourself, what are my dreams? It's a hard question to answer because you know, people can give you advice on how to make something happen or on the steps to take, but no one can answer this question for you. You have to answer this question yourself. And so I've designed this episode as a workshop to help you get laser focused on what your dreams are and what you truly want at this moment in your life. And before we jump in, I just wanna set this workshop up and tell you what you can expect. Like all the workshops I create, this episode, it has a free companion workbook and you can download it. I'm gonna give the you the URL for it. It's coach carlene.com/dreamer, coach carlene.com/dreamer. And when you go to that link, you'll be able to download the workbook and you can also find that link in the show notes below. Honestly, it's probably easier to just go click it in the show notes below. Um, but if you are driving right now or you're taking me on a walk with you, you do not need to hit stop and then download and come back. No, no, no, no, no. Just listen to me as you continue to drive or as you finish your workout or as you're going on your walk. And think about the answers, because I'm going to guide you through three simple steps that will reveal your most hidden dreams. And so I wanna remind you again of that URL. It's coach carlene.com/dreamer. And Carlene, if you don't know, is spelled C-A-R-L-E-N-E. So Coach Carlene all one word.com/dreamer. Alright, I am ready to dive in. How about you? Alright, let's do this. Now what if I told you that dreaming is part of what makes you human? Mm-hmm. Absolutely true. Without dreams, your life can feel dull. Or you feel disconnected from yourself, like you stay busy, but you're bored or unfulfilled. Does that sound familiar? And if you don't dream, the only direction you have in life is what you should be doing instead of what you want to be doing. And you know what time is going to keep passing you by. So don't you wanna start moving toward your dreams? Of course you do. And that's why today's episode is something really special. Because I heard from so many of you that you stopped dreaming years ago that you don't even know how to dream, or that you were taught that dreams are silly and to just be responsible and do what you should do. Now, this episode is going to open your eyes and it's gonna surprise you. And I've designed it to help you reimagine and rediscover what your dreams are right now. So if you're feeling kind of stuck in a rut, you know that meth feeling, or you've got big dreams, but you're looking for confirmation that you're moving in the right direction, then this is the episode for you if you can right now, please follow along with the workbook that you just downloaded. It's actually called Start Dreaming Again. Three gentle steps to rediscover what you really want with powerful AI prompts to coach you through each step. Now, hold on, hold on. I recognize that we are all in different places when it comes to ai, and maybe you're a frequent flyer on chat, GPT, or maybe you've never logged in. It's okay. Either way. I want to assure you, you are right where you're supposed to be. That being said, each of these steps allows you to do the work without AI via a journal and doing some more reflection yourself. Or you can use the prompts that I'm gonna give you and put'em into chat, GPT or you know what else you can do? You can do both, right? So you can do this however you want to do it. And what I really want you to know is I tested these prompts. Over and over, and I was blown away at the results I got from chat GPT. So I designed these prompts to be your coach. It's kind of like having me there, to help you see what's buried in your heart and really connect to it. And I have to tell you, when I got my results, I cried. Now I don't wanna make you cry, but that's just how good it is. So if you've never used chat, GPT. I encourage you to experiment. Give it a shot. You really, you have nothing to lose. Okay, so now that we have set the stage, let's begin. Let's dive into step one. The first step to uncovering your dreams is you have to wake up your inner dreamer. And I wanna start this part by saying something very, very clearly. You don't have to know what you want yet. You don't have to know what you want yet. The whole point is that you don't know, so let's just let that be the baseline truth for this episode. You don't have to have a five-year plan and you don't have to feel ready. What we're doing here is much softer than that. We're remembering. We're noticing we're stirring something that might have been sleeping for a very long time, and this part of the guide is really about waking up your inner dreamer and waking up, right? We know waking up, as we all know, it can feel awkward or it can feel disorienting, or it feels slow, and sometimes it's even irritating to wake up, but waking up also means that you're coming back to life. And that's what this is. It's a gentle coming back to life. So right now, I just want to invite you to just get quiet. Just settle for a second. Take a deep breath. Maybe place a hand on your chest or your belly, if that feels grounding, because you've been carrying a lot, probably more than most people know. And if your own dreams have taken a backseat lately, or if they've gotten real dusty or fuzzy or hidden under a million other priorities, that makes perfect sense. You're not broken. You're just tired and tired. People don't need pressure. They need permission, so I'm giving you permission to listen to the Whisper Inside permission to want something again, and permission to even not know what you want and still show up to this process. All right, so here's where the magic starts. You are going to partner with a tool called Chat, GPT. And you're going to fill in the blanks on the prompt, and then you're going to paste the entire prompt into chat, GPT. And if you're not gonna use chat GPT, you can literally fill in the blanks and write it in your journal. This is a different chat, GPT or AI tool than you might be used to. This isn't about productivity hacking. We're using it more like a mirror, a coach, a quiet companion who listens without judgment, who can help gently reflect patterns back to you that you might not be able to see clearly yet. And the prompt that I'm gonna walk you through in a second is designed to help uncover the deeper threads underneath your day-to-day life. The values, the longings, the what ifs that have been waiting patiently for you to notice them. Now, you don't have to get it right, you just have to get honest because the response you get. From chat, GPT is only as good and true as what you tell it. Let's go over the reflection prompt together. Again, you're gonna paste this into chat GPT after you've filled in the blanks, but don't be fooled these blanks. These are the keys to your dreams, so each one can unlock a part of you that's been tucked away. It can unlock a long lost dream or something that you've never dared to dream before. And so this is how the prompt starts what we're asking. The robot to do what we're asking. AI is I'm looking for help uncovering the dreams, values, or desires that may be hiding under the surface of my daily life. I'll share some honest reflections about who I am and what's been tugging at me, and then you're gonna complete a few sentences. And these are not trick questions. They're breadcrumbs. They're leading you back to yourself and your dreams. And I'm gonna share with you what my own inputs were and then later on what the output was from the AI coach as we move through this. So here's how I filled in the blanks. I'm a mom, grandma, life coach, specializing in A DHD. An introvert, an empath with a desire to help others. I've always wondered what it would be like to sleep well and not have anxiety. I've always wanted to write a book, but never thought I was good enough. I've wondered what my life would be like if I had gone into radio after college. People often come to me for help with. A DHD overwhelm, anxiety, needing a safe space to talk, making decisions about what's next for them. I feel a twinge, jealousy when I see someone more beautiful, more confident, or taking action on writing a book or just putting themselves out there. If I had one free day with no obligations, I'd spend it getting a massage and a facial. If I could wave a magic wand and change one thing about the world, it would be for everyone to be kind. What breaks my heart about life is people don't realize they don't have forever. What pisses me off about life is it goes too fast. I've always wanted to master the skill of writing and playing the piano. I would feel more alive and energized if I was sleeping better and stopped playing small. If money weren't an issue, I'd travel to Italy and stay for three months. If I had two extra hours every day, I'd use that time to reach out to friends and family more. Okay, so the reason I shared all of that with you, I know it's a lot like about Carlene here, but I wanted you to see that there are no right answers here, and I just want you to fill in the blanks honestly with whatever comes to your mind first. So after you fill in the blanks, the prompt continues and we tell ai, keeping in mind the dreams can be big or small, tangible, or a way of being. What kinds of dreams, desires, or deeper values might be hiding in what I just shared? What patterns do you notice? What dream might be waiting for me to name it. That's. The first prompt. Here are some tips before you try it. Be real. Don't try to impress the robot. This isn't a dating profile. This isn't a personal brand statement. This is you meeting yourself Again, try not to overthink it. And you know what? If an answer feels silly or it feels strange or very emotional, that's probably the one that matters the most. I'm gonna warn you, you might cry, you might laugh, you might feel weird. It's all part of the waking up process. I experienced all of those things. When your AI reflection comes back to you, read it slowly and notice what jumps out. And what you wanna do is you wanna save the phrases that give you chills, like let it all settle and you can come back and you can journal and look for these things. Look for a sentence that gave you chills or made you tear up. Maybe there was a word or theme that keeps showing up, or maybe a dream you didn't expect. A surface showed up. And any clarity or curiosity that you feel, and here's the cool thing, you can even run the prompt more than once. You can shift your answers. You can play with this, but I urge you to go through the entire process first and then come back to it in a couple days if you feel like you wanna shift your answers. Okay. Because this isn't about figuring it all out. It's about finally hearing yourself clearly, and the reason that this first step is so important. Is because you know what? When you spent years doing what needed to be done, like caring for others and paying the bills, and just getting through the week your own desires, they can start to feel kind of indulgent, right? Or maybe even impossible. Or how about irrelevant, but dreaming it isn't selfish. It really is sacred. And this first step, this reflection is about honoring that sacred part of you. Again, the part that still wants the part that still hopes the part that's quietly whispering. I'm still here. I still believe in something more. That's step one, my friend. It's tender, it's powerful, and you know what else? It's the part that most people skip, but you are not most people, you're showing up and that is where everything begins. The next part of this little workshop, we're going to move into step two, and it's called Spot the Spark. And what we're gonna do is we're gonna look back at your reflection. Your AI output, or even just the thoughts that came up for you today, and start noticing what's tugging at your heart the most. So let's imagine for a moment that you've done the AI reflection from step one, or maybe you've just been turning over those questions in your mind and now you're sitting there with all the racing thoughts and maybe a few surprising longings and maybe one or two dreams that keep raising their hand, like, Hey, remember me. So this is the time to slow down and to listen really closely.'cause you're not trying to choose the perfect dream. You're not mapping out your whole future. You're simply noticing. What's alive for you right now? What feels meaningful or energizing or true? Here is where we wanna go with step two is I want you to start by looking back at what you wrote down or reflected on earlier in step one, and then ask yourself these questions. Which idea gives me a sense of possibility, even if it scares me, which dream keeps tugging at me? And what would I regret not exploring a year from now. Just let your answers come to you. Don't judge them. Because then what we're going to do is you are going to use a simple symbol key to start spotting the sparks, what you're gonna do is you're gonna take each dreamer idea that you've noticed, and give it one or more of these little intuitive markers. So if there's a dreamer idea that makes your heart race with excitement, give it a heart. If there's a dream or idea that gives you energy, just thinking about it, give it a little lightning bolt. If there's a dream or idea that keeps coming back to you over time, over and over again, put a little clock there. If there's a dream or idea that feels aligned with who you are now and who you're becoming, put a target there. And what you wanna do is you wanna look for those dreams or ideas that you gave two or more symbols to, that's your spark. That's the one saying, Hey, come find me. And you know what? It might not be the most logical dream. That's okay. And it might not be the safest or most convenient. That is also okay, but it's the one that's alive and aliveness is always worth following. Okay. Now that's the way you do it without AI for step two. But if you want a little extra clarity and you loved using AI in step one, you can bring it into this step two. So here's a bonus prompt that you can paste into chat, GPT. Literally copy and paste. You don't even need to add anything to it. And what you are asking. AI to do as you are asking based on what I shared in step one. Help me identify one to three dreams that seem most alive and important. Right now I'm looking for ideas that feel especially relevant to who I am today and who I want to become. Ones that give me energy, keep resurfacing, or make my heart race. For each dream you identify, explain why it stands out from the others, what deeper values or desires it connects to. What it might really be about under the surface, like identity, purpose, healing, impact, joy, end with a short reflection or visualization prompt to help me choose which one to explore next. So let the AI reflect back what it sees. So this is your coach looking at what it sees from the information that you gave it in step one. Let the AI reflect back what it sees, because you might be surprised by the insights it uncovers. I, I know I was. And so today, instead of just telling you how to spot the spark, I also want to just walk you through the dreams that surfaced for me when I went through this process myself, because Yep, I did the reflection. I sat with the discomfort and the longing and all the surprises, and I wanna share what came up. Not because your dreams will look the same, but because you might see some pieces of yourself in mine. So my AI coach came up with three dreams, the first one was to write the book. The second one was to live in Italy for three months, and the third dream was to sleep deeply and wake rested and feel free from anxiety. Now I feel like, uh, do we have time to go through all three of these? Um, I feel like I just wanna touch on all of'em. Okay. So the write the book. Now this one, it didn't surprise me because it's been with me for years. You've heard me talk about it on so many episodes. I've just been kind of carrying this around with all my, some days. And when I filled out the reflection, one of the sentences I wrote was, I've always wanted to write a book, but never thought I was good enough. And when AI said that back to me, I was like, oh, it sounds so different when it's reflected back to you than when you're the one typing it in there. And it actually told me that this dream was connected to identity, healing, and voice. That it's not just the act of writing, but the becoming of a writer. It's about owning my right to take up space. It's about letting myself be seen, not just as a helper or a coach or a doer, but as a full creative being. And I was like, wow, okay, so this isn't just about me writing a book, right? This isn't about just sitting down and writing the book. It's so much more. And it gave me this reflection question. It said, imagine holding your finished book, whose face comes to mind when you think about the impact it could make. Oh dang. When I read that, I actually teared up because I thought of someone younger, maybe a past version of me or someone out there still carrying their own dream, really. Or maybe someone out there carrying their dream quietly. And I imagined what it would mean to finally let this part of me live. So that's a spark. And it's, it's loaded with old stories, but it's honest and it does feel alive for me. So the second dream it uncovered was me living in Italy for three months. And I wrote, if money weren't an issue, I traveled to Italy and lived there for three months, and I meant it like I could see the cobblestone streets, the open food markets, the crystal blue water, and most of all, I could feel the ease. And what my AI coach told me is the stream isn't just about travel, it's about reinvention. It's about slowing down, it's about living differently. It's about untangling from the grind and the guilt and the constant go and said what it might really be about is letting pleasure be a valid reason for doing something. Oh my gosh. I feel like I know I never do anything just for the pleasure of it. So that that hit me. And it's also about feeling at home, not just in a place but in myself. And then AI gave me a reflection prompt and asked me, what version of you is waiting in that villa writing in a journal with nowhere to be? How would she move differently through the rest of her life? And that one gave me chills because I so want to be that version of myself. So going to Italy isn't just about going to Italy, it's about finding a home in myself, and that was just wow. Wow. Okay. Dream number three. This one, I didn't know this was a dream and this doesn't. I don't know. It's just less sparkly, so dream number three, to sleep deeply, wake rested, and feel free from anxiety. Um, when I started my reflection, one of the first things I said was, I've always wondered what it would be like to sleep well and not have anxiety. Like, I mean, that's very true. I've never been a good sleeper and I've always had anxiety. But it didn't feel like a dream in the traditional sense. But now I see that it's something that I really long for very deeply. And. The reflection, it helped me see it more clearly that ai, my AI coach, said, this dream is about healing and recovery. It's about letting myself stop striving, and finally exhale. It's about feeling rested and trusting my body and letting go of the push, and then it asked me. My coach asked me, what if peace was not something to earn, but something to allow? What would you stop doing or start saying no to if your number one priority became protecting your peace? And yeah, that one hit hard because that dream, it doesn't sound glamorous, but it feels really foundational. And maybe that's the spark that lets all these other dreams grow. And I've actually taken some steps on this dream because this one surprised me and I realized, um, it is a foundational dream and I feel like everything else will fall into place once I figure this out. And I'm really excited to go on this journey and figure it out. So this is how we return to dreaming, there's not a blueprint. There's not a perfect plan. It's a spark, it's a whisper, it's a quiet, yes. And you know what? I know I just said that. I've already started doing something about that third dream, but I want you to know there's no goal setting to be done. In the third step, we'll talk about how to stay close to that dream without pressure or a 10 point plan. You've named something, you've looked it in the eye, and you've uncovered the spark of a dream that matters to you, not because it's flashy or not because it fits someone else's timeline, but because it made your heart stir and that that's enough to begin. So now the question becomes how do you keep that spark alive? How do you stay close to that dream? Not just when it's exciting, but when life gets loud again, that's what step three is all about, staying close to your dream. So we are not shifting into go mode. We are not setting goals. We are not building a 90 day plan with color coded spreadsheets, unless that's your love language. And even then, not yet. So this is much simpler and deeper. It's about staying in relationship with a dream you just uncovered, not by doing a lot, but by listening more, not by pushing, but by protecting. Because here's the truth, your dream, especially one that's been buried or bruised, it needs time, it needs trust. It needs to know that you're not going to abandon it again. So how are you gonna do that? Well, I'm going to give you two simple practices, two tiny rituals really, that help you stay connected to your dream without pressure, no perfectionism. And the first one is called five dreams a Day. So every morning, maybe while you're drinking your coffee or you're staring out the window, write down five dreams, like just five dreams. That's it. You do not need to overthink this. There's no editing, there's no judging. You can write down big ones, silly ones, you can repeat them every day. It doesn't matter. Here are some dreams that you could possibly write down. I want to feel rested when I wake up, or I want to host a dinner party where no one wants to leave, or I want to write a children's book, or I want to take a solo trip with no itinerary, or I want to feel peaceful in my body again. So those are just examples, but every day. I just want you to write down five dreams. You can repeat them over and over again, and here's why this works, because when you name your desires regularly, your brain starts to prioritize them. It's a thing called the zy garic effect. Your mind holds onto the things you haven't finished or claimed yet. When you keep writing down your dreams, your subconscious starts quietly looking for ways to make room for them. You don't even have to take action yet. Just keep naming what you want. And it's like a trail of breadcrumbs. It's like a conversation. You're continuing every single morning. The second practice that you can do is called. The don't do discovery list. Now, this is for those days when you feel cloudy and you're stuck, like you don't even know what you want anymore. So here's what you can do. You can draw a line down the center of a piece of paper, and on the left side, write down what you don't want. And on the right side, write down what you might want instead of that. Okay, so here's an example. Um, I don't want to feel exhausted by 3:00 PM every day. On the right side, I do want instead to build in slow mornings with no calls. Um, how about, uh, I don't want to dread my inbox. Oh, yeah. Uh, on the right side you would write, I do want instead to feel excited about my work again. Sometimes clarity, it doesn't come from this big grand vision. It comes from that contrast. So by naming what you don't want or what you're tired of, you're gonna start discovering what you are craving, what you do want. So those are your three steps. Those are your three steps to start dreaming again. And you know what? You don't have to make a big move to stay close to your dream. You just have to keep showing up to it, it can just be humming in the background of your life while you're walking the dog and doing the laundry and all the things that you're doing. The dream isn't a demand, it's just an invitation. And the more you stay near it, the more it's gonna reveal what it needs from you. Now, that's not to say that if you feel ready, because you might, because sometimes when you get this clarity, it leads to energy, and that's what I felt with that third dream when it came to my sleep and anxiety. I was like, oh, wow, wow. I really wanna do something about this now. Use that, use that energy, use that excitement. You don't have to ignore it, but you also don't need a 12 week plan. You just need one small, kind, doable step. And that might look like texting a friend and saying, Hey, I think I wanna try writing again. Or maybe it's you setting aside 30 minutes on your calendar just for some dream time. Or maybe it's reopening an old document on your desktop. And giving it a title, or maybe it's walking through a bookstore and seeing what catches your attention. Or maybe it's looking up the flights to Florence. Like even if you don't book a thing, sometimes it's just these tiny actions that can rewire how you see yourself, but also you don't have to take a step yet. You are allowed to just be with your dream for now. Because tending to the dream, that's enough and noticing is enough, and I also want you to know that you are enough. Here's what I hope that you take from this today. You do not need a finish line. You just need a little flicker, and you don't have to shout your dream from the rooftops right now. You just have to whisper it to yourself every morning. And remember, this is not starting over. You're coming home to yourself and to your dreams. If this workshop stirred something inside of you, even just one spark, I'd love to hear what that spark is. Leave me a text at the link in the show notes below this episode. And for now, stay close to the dream. And protect it. Play with it. Let it shape the way you move through your days. You've remembered something beautiful, so don't rush past it. Keep dreaming.

Carlene 33:52

Alright, my sweet friend Thank you so much for being here with me today. And remember your dreams. They are waiting for you and your time. It's now and I'll be back next week. Ready to welcome you to our next conversation. Oh, and one more thing. This is the legal language. You know, the stuff that the lawyers put together, and they say that I need to read this to you. So here we go. This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. I'm just your friend. I'm not a licensed therapist. This podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professionals. Got it? Good. I will see you in the next episode.