These dreams keep following you for a reason
Your desires aren’t random—they’re messages. And writing them might change everything.
Day 03 of the Optimism course is an invitation to meet your quiet desires. The ones that linger beneath the noise. The ones you casually joke about with friends but secretly hope could be real…one day. And the ones that feel so deeply personal you’ve barely let yourself whisper them, afraid they might be too big to claim.
These desires aren’t random. They’re messages from your soul. Gentle nudges from the part of you that remembers why you’re here.
, one of the most prolific creative minds of our time, talks about how ideas have their own frequency, and our only job is to clear enough space to receive them. These desires are that frequency. They carry a specific kind of energy meant only for you. When you make space to write them down, even privately, you start to meet that energy. You get to test what it feels like to believe in something bigger than who you are today. And maybe you don’t fully believe in it yet, but part of optimism is being able to see a future version of yourself who can.
The real shift is forward vision. The kind that doesn’t need proof. The kind that can carry you through your inner critic’s doubt, the fear of showing up, the struggle of consistency. That kind of vision is a stabilizing force. When you can see who you are becoming—even vaguely—you start to treat yourself differently. You show up with more respect, more softness, more intention.
That’s what today is about. Letting yourself go there. Giving your quiet desires a name, a shape, a space to breathe. You don’t have to act on them yet. Just trust that they aren’t here by accident. They’re here to transform you. Let that be enough for now.
Here’s what I wrote for Day 03 –
Prompt: Who might you become if you trusted one of these desires enough to pursue it?
What I’m noticing in real time is how differently these desires live in my body. The creative ones like food, writing, ceramics, and piano feel soft and spacious. There’s no urgency wrapped around them. They orbit me like familiar companions I trust I’ll return to when the timing feels right. I don’t feel rushed because I’m not measuring them against a clock. They’re waiting for me, and that feels grounding. These are expressions that ask nothing from me but presence. I move toward them for joy, not achievement.
But the desire to build a deeper personal presence, especially in how I show up online, carries a different energy. It feels more immediate. Like the longer I stay quiet, the harder it becomes to begin. There’s a voice in me that’s ready to be expressed, and I keep hesitating. When I picture the future version of me, the one who moved through that fear and followed the thread anyway, she feels familiar. She’s not perfect or polished, but she’s in her expression. She’s seen by herself and by others. And what I notice most is that she’s proud. Not of the result, but of the decision to show up.
She knows that her presence is her power. She lets that be enough. No performing. No rushing. Just living with more openness, more honesty, more alignment with what matters.
Notes:
• If you’re following along here on Substack but don’t have access to the full course, just know that what I share here is only a glimpse—about 25% of the full experience. For example, today’s course includes a journal exercise that walks you through identifying your quiet desires before even getting to the main prompt. If this series is resonating with you, I really encourage you to buy access to our course library (it’s just $20 for unlimited access to all current + future courses) so you can experience the full depth of the journey.
• This essay explores how many of our dreams have quietly become memories, not because they came true, but because we never acted on them. That insight hit me hard. The way he ends the piece is especially powerful. I’d consider it required reading.
“we, as people, stop dreaming, not because we don’t want to, but because we’re terrified. terrified of failure — of being ordinary, of not living up to what our younger selves imagined. somewhere along the way, survival replaced wonder. paying bills replaced magic. and the big dreams? they quietly became old stories we only tell when we’re drunk or when the room is too quiet. they became memories.”
• is an expander for me. I’ve admired her work with Crown Affair for years, but it’s the way she expresses herself online with so much clarity and intention that really stays with me. This essay breaks down her moodboard practice in a way that makes manifestation feel not just possible, but personally tangible.
What’s one of your quiet desires? If that feels too vulnerable to share online, I get it. Instead, consider adding to the conversation by commenting who you might become if you allowed yourself to follow that desire. What version of you would begin to take shape? This exercise is powerful because it instills belief for the dream itself and more importantly, for the version of you who’s closer to it than your originally thought.