Are the same thing? No.
Could they coincide? Yes.
What happens if we confuse them? You can be frustrated, you won’t have clear your direction and you could get wrong conclusions.
What happens if I don’t have dreams? You won’t have hope.
What happens if I don’t have goals? You won’t have any challenge that makes improve yourself.
The main difference is that goals should be under your control, which means that just depends on you to be reached. However, a dream is something you would love to achieve but you are realistic, thinking that there too many factors which could affect and some of these factors are out of your range/control.
This difference matters, because when we define, plan and fight for a goal that is out of our control, maybe we could do an amazing job, do our best, but could not be enough. Is it fair then, be frustrated and blame ourselves, for an apparently fail? Perhaps, we did not define the proper approach.
Example of a wrong defined goal because it is out of our control:
Wrong Defined Goal:
Win the league.
Why is wrong defined?
Even if we have real odds on our side, if there are other teams with good chances, perhaps we can do it great, but it won’t be enough.
How do we fix it?
Our goal will be related to be committed, to take advantage of every workout, to strive the day that we do not feel like it, to give priority and sacrifice things/situations that may interfere, to know what others do and how we can overcome them, to adapt ourselves to each game, etc. and then, our dream could be to win the league.
Result?
It is unknown. We never know it before. That is the uncertainty which we have to live with, but it is also the magic.
What we can be sure about this way, is that we can fulfil all our objectives because they depend on us. And if we do not achieve it, we can not make excuses or complain about others. We will know that we did not do what we should.
Our dream will be our fuel and our desire. It will be the reason why we will work every day convinced and the trigger that will push us to continue when we have doubts or difficulties.
If we achieve all the goals but we do not fulfil our dream, at first we will be sad. However, we will always be proud of what we have done.
For BTA, this is not the consolation prize, but the real victory.
We could say that an objective is connected with the preparation and daily work to get what we want. It is related to all of those challenges that bring us closer and allow us to improve. A dream is what keeps us awake by the illusion of getting it.
What happens if I have clear my dreams and goals and I fight for them?
You will find purpose in what you are doing, it will make your path worth it and even if you want to change them in the future or you decide to follow another way, you will not be able to reproach yourself for anything.
In summary:
