I ask because especially around the new year, I think about the great book by John C. Maxwell called, Put Your Dream to the Test. 

He doesn't tell you to get motivated to achieve your dream. 

He asks you to test it. 

(Test your dream? Weird right? Nope.) 

And he shares ten very powerful questions to help you do it. 

The first one alone is enough to stop most people in their tracks. 

When you look at it through a Go for No lens, it's even more interesting. 

Here it is: 

Question 1: Is My Dream Really My Dream?

This question seems so obvious. But think about this. It's not asking whether your dream is good or impressive or practical. 

It's asking whether you want it. 

Is it truly yours?

Maybe it's a dream you pursued because of a coach, teacher, parent, spouse or friend told you that you should. Maybe it was really someone else's dream. You got caught up in chasing something that was really never yours. 

It’s okay not to want what everyone else wants. Or go down a path someone else wanted for you. 

From a Go for No perspective, this is everything!

People will avoid asking for things they don't truly want. 

They'll delay the uncomfortable conversations. Believe they're "not ready yet." Not because they’re afraid of rejection, but because rejection would force them to confront the fact that the dream might not even be theirs.

When a dream is truly yours, you’re willing to hear No in service of it. 

When it's not, every No feels draining and without a grand purpose. 

So before you worry about how big your dream is, how realistic it sounds, or whether it makes sense on paper, ask yourself: Is this really my dream?

Because when it is, you’ll notice something interesting. You'll be much more willing to ask and more willing to risk hearing No. That question alone can change the direction of a year.