If Your Dreams Don’t Scare You, Then You’re Not Dreaming Big Enough: A Guide to Ambitious Nightmares

Let’s face it: we’ve all heard the motivational mantra, “If your dreams don’t scare you, then you’re not dreaming big enough.” It’s the kind of wisdom printed on coffee mugs, Instagram captions, and that one poster in your office break room nobody really looks at. But what does it really mean to be scared of your dreams? And more importantly, why are we actively seeking nightmares?

Allow me to unpack this terrifying concept in a way that might make you laugh, cringe, and maybe reconsider your dream journal.

The Small Dreams Club

Picture this: you dream of owning a small bakery in your hometown. It’s peaceful, smells like fresh bread, and the worst thing that happens is running out of croissants before 9 a.m. Nice, right? WRONG. According to the dream-scare philosophy, you’re doing it all wrong. Where’s the fear? The adrenaline? The sleepless nights wondering if the health inspector will find the mouse living in your baguette oven? A bakery that doesn’t terrify you is clearly not big enough.

Let’s Dream Bigger

Okay, let’s up the stakes. Instead of opening a bakery, you decide to franchise one in every city on the planet. Suddenly, you’re jet-setting between New York, Tokyo, and Paris, dealing with supply chain nightmares, Yelp reviews from Karen, and lawsuits because someone choked on a pretzel in Milwaukee. Now THAT is a dream worthy of scaring the sourdough starter out of you. Congratulations, you’ve made it to the big leagues of ambition!

Signs Your Dream is Big Enough

Not sure if your dream meets the "scary" threshold? Here are some telltale signs:

1. You Break into a Cold Sweat Thinking About It
   If the idea of failure doesn’t keep you awake at night, you’re not dreaming big enough. Pro tip: nightmares about public speaking or showing up to work in your underwear are unrelated. Seek therapy for those.

2. Your Accountant Quits
   When your dream involves numbers so big that your accountant looks at you like you just asked them to do calculus on a napkin, congrats—you’re terrifying them, too!

3. Your Friends Call You Crazy
   “Are you sure about this?” is the polite version of “You’ve lost your mind.” If you hear this from your loved ones, you’re on the right track.

But What if I Just Want a Simple Life?

If the idea of "big, scary dreams" doesn’t resonate, that’s okay, too. After all, someone has to be sane enough to remind us that life’s best moments sometimes involve small wins—a perfectly brewed cup of coffee, a quiet weekend, or successfully parallel parking on the first try. Just don’t let those "go big or go home" types make you feel bad about it.

A Final Warning: Don’t Go Overboard

While dreaming big is great, there’s a fine line between ambitious and ridiculous. Dreaming of starting a company? Scary, but doable. Dreaming of colonizing Mars to open a pizza shop? Maybe dial it back a bit, Elon.

Embrace the Fear

In the end, the essence of this mantra is to push your limits. Whether that’s climbing the corporate ladder, writing your first book, or finally telling your crush you like them (gasp!), fear is often a sign you’re stepping out of your comfort zone.

So go ahead—dream big. Scare yourself a little. But maybe keep a nightlight handy, just in case.