How Your Attitude Shapes the Fulfillment of Your Dreams

Have you ever found yourself failing to achieve a dream, even though you had a clear goal and an action plan in place?

If so, I encourage you to take a broader look and reflect on your overall attitude toward life.

According to Transactional Analysis theory, we can distinguish four life attitudes:

• Assertive attitude

• Aggressive attitude

• Submissive attitude

• Impasse attitude

For example, a submissive attitude means you often fail to use your full potential while overestimating the abilities and experience of others. This can lead you to feel inferior and give up at the first sign of difficulty, fearing failure. In challenging situations, you tend to rely on others’ decisions, quickly compromising on your own needs or dreams.

An aggressive attitude, on the other hand, is characterized by surrounding yourself with people who are less experienced or more submissive. You may show excessive criticism and a lack of trust toward the world around you. As a result, when achieving your dreams requires collaboration, you might find it difficult to build the supportive relationships necessary for success.

If you often attribute your failures to other people or external circumstances, you may be demonstrating a dominant impasse attitude. This mindset limits your sense of agency and leads you to justify inaction. The world can then seem unpredictable and unfriendly — discouraging you from pursuing your goals.

People whose dominant attitude is assertiveness are able to assess reality realistically and set achievable goals. They can evaluate risks and plan preventive actions on the path toward their dreams. They learn from mistakes, treating them as a natural and valuable part of the journey toward success.

The good news is that — no matter what your current attitude is — assertiveness can be learned.

Here’s where you can start:

• Practice saying no assertively

• Ask questions when you don’t understand something

• Appreciate and praise others sincerely

• Set and maintain healthy boundaries

If you have another dream waiting to be fulfilled, remember that coaching helps build assertiveness — and that’s the foundation for turning dreams into reality.
Don’t let your dreams wait too long!