Dreams: the fuel, the motivation, the reason for anything and everything we do in life. Without hopes of reaching desired goals, this world would be meaningless. However, simply having visions isn’t enough: we must work and sacrifice to protect them and make them real.

Everyone has their own version of a “perfect” future in mind, but many of us are not willing to put in the time and effort to forge those fantasies into reality.

Whether or not we want to admit it, the reason doubt is instilled within those of us who consider taking this leap of faith is because we are scared to put our heart and soul into something, only to come up short of our desired goal in the end. Instead, we settle for where we are now, thus becoming comfortable within our “safety net.”

The fear of failure is not the only reason some individuals don’t pursue their dreams. Sometimes it’s because we allow other things to get in the way of our path toward success, such as jobs we don’t particularly enjoy, people who provide little to no positive influence in our lives, and activities that don’t significantly benefit us in the long run. Although we may seem to be happy now, it doesn’t necessarily mean we will be thankful for our decision to put those things ahead of our goals later.

Experiencing true success requires sacrifice in exchange for the glory. If we aren’t willing to give up the less important aspects of our day-to-day lives for the chance to gain something even better, we can’t expect to have much success.

Despite the possibility of failure, even after great sacrifice, a significant number of people still decide to pursue their passions: why? Because taking the chance to achieve and become something greater is not nearly as frightening as lacking the courage to reach for more and being stuck in the same place.

Possessing goals to improve our quality of life is essential to happiness and completeness. Those who lack a vision and desire for a brighter future, are missing out on one of the most meaningful experiences: self-improvement. Nothing feels greater than dreaming of something, working and sacrificing for it, and making it become a real part of your world.

We need to be aware of how important our dreams are to each of our individual journeys. Without them, we could never truly live. We would be unmotivated and unproductive human beings who never move forward. That is a world I never want to be a part of.

This life can be ruthless: it will shatter our visions of the bright futures we desire if we let it. Our goals are vital keys to happiness, so we must work for them, sacrifice for them, and most of all, protect them because our dreams are the skeleton key, which unlock all doors to the endless possibilities of life as we know it.