Reflecting on my remote work journey, I was wondering where it all started. I find myself transported back to my first experience in a co-living space in Medellin, Colombia, circa September 2022. At that time, instead of working I was on a sabbatical, exploring the joys of Latin America and the Spanish language as well as slowly getting started on my mental health blog. During this experience, I met other remote workers and digital nomads in this beautiful, vibrant city, and a dream I had felt in the back of my mind started to come more and more into shape: I wanted to be able to work fully remotely, from anywhere, sharing houses with other like-minded individuals that are living the same lifestyle. I wanted to sit and work in cute cafes or on the beach and get inspired there. But back then this dream still felt so far away…

Fast-forward 1,5 years:

Here I am, sitting in a beachfront restaurant on the beach in Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, living the very life I’ve been dreaming of, working from anywhere I please. I’ve spent the day exploring the island, getting some work done over lunch to then heading for a siesta on the beach after work. A life that I honestly couldn’t imagine would come true for me. It felt like one of these things that you see on Instagram but that aren’t possible for ‘normal’ people like me.

They say that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

Of course, it took many steps, try-outs, failures, and patience during these 1,5 years to make this dream a reality for me. But as I am reflecting on this journey, I have come to realize just how important the first step was that laid the groundwork for this process to even begin. And that was to start believing that I could be this person. Seeing others living this life and living with them under the same roof made it much more real.

Therefore that’s what I was most inclined to share with you about my reflections on my remote work journey: my first step.

To make a dream come true you must first believe that it’s possible. Oftentimes we put roadblocks into our minds by sticking to beliefs that are not serving us, such as ‘This could never work for me’.

✨To manifest your dreams, you must first dare to believe in their possibility✨

Imagination exercises are a wonderful tool used e.g. by professional athletes to reach their competition goals, but it can equally be used by all of us to reach our life and career goals. It’s a tool I frequently use with my clients as well and I get to see them achieve their goals, too.

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Here’s a simple guide on how to use the power of imagination:

1. Define your goal and dare to dream big.

2. Write it down, short and concisely.

3. Make yourself comfortable in an undisturbed place and close your eyes.

4. Picture yourself already having reached your goal. For example in my case, I would imagine myself sitting on the beach or in cute cafes, working on my laptop, surrounded by other remote workers.

5. Repeat daily until you believe it to be possible (it can take a while to disrupt our innate beliefs of the world).

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Why does it work?

Our brains are prone to confirmation bias, that is, we subconsciously search for confirmation for the things we believe to be true. For example, if we believe that our boss doesn’t like us, we will be focused much more on any situation that might confirm this belief while downplaying or ignoring situations that disconfirm this belief. So once we believe that something is possible, such as finding remote work, we will be much more likely to focus on the cues in our environment that will help us get there.

As we conclude, remember this: being able to believe in and imagine your ideal reality, is always the first step to reach your goals and dreams.

So I invite you to dream big and start imagining. And who knows, maybe I’ll meet you in the next co-living space around the world.