How To Dream

What do you want that you keep talking yourself out of wanting?
 
In this episode of How to Dream, Deedee Cummings explores the guilt, embarrassment, and self-doubt that can show up when we admit we want more from our lives. More peace. More freedom. More money. More joy. More time. More creativity. More room to breathe. Wanting more does not automatically mean you are ungrateful. It may simply mean you are paying attention to what no longer fits and what is still calling you forward.
 
This episode is for anyone who has gotten very good at knowing what everyone else needs but has lost touch with their own desires. Deedee talks about the difference between gratitude and limitation, why we often reject our own dreams before anyone else gets the chance, and how to begin telling yourself the truth about what you want without shame. You do not have to change your whole life today. Start by being honest.
 
This week's reflection:What do I want that I keep shrinking because I am afraid of what people will think?
 
Grab your completely free guide, as referenced in the episode, to help you get the most out of Season 2 here.

What if you haven't stopped dreaming, you've just stopped reaching because you were afraid of being disappointed again?
 
In this episode of How to Dream, Deedee Cummings explores the quiet ways we can give up on ourselves without even realizing it. Life gets busy, disappointment builds, and somewhere along the way we started telling ourselves, "This is probably just how life is," and stopped asking, "What could my life become?" But sometimes what feels like acceptance is really fear of hoping for something different. One disappointment is information, not a verdict. Deedee invites you to get curious about the dreams, desires, and parts of yourself you may have pushed aside, and to remember that you're allowed to want something different.
 
This episode is for anyone who feels they missed their window, it's too late, or they've stopped reaching for what they want. You don't need a five-year plan. You can start by asking yourself one simple question: What do I still want?
 
Grab your completely free guide, as referenced in the episode, to help you get the most out of Season 2 here.

What if you do not have to feel ready before you move?
 
In this episode of How to Dream, Deedee Cummings explores why so many of us stay stuck waiting to feel ready, clear, confident, or unafraid before we take action towards the lives we want. But here is a message we do not often hear: movement comes first.
 
One small action can create evidence that change is possible. That evidence can rebuild hope, reveal clarity, and help interrupt the cycle of feeling stuck and then using the lack of change as proof that nothing will ever change.
 
This episode is for anyone who feels overwhelmed, discouraged, frozen, or unsure how to begin building a life they cannot yet see. You do not need the whole plan. You do not need perfect motivation. You need one real and doable next step from where you are right now.
 
Grab your completely free guide, as referenced in the episode, to help you get the most out of Season 2 here. 

This season of How to Dream is for anyone trying to build a life they cannot yet see. In this opening episode, therapist and author Deedee Cummings invites listeners into a deeper, bolder season about hope, movement, fear, uncertainty, and what it means to keep building the life you deserve even when the world feels heavy. Join Deedee for practical insight on how to protect your hope, tune out the noise, and refusing to hand your future over to despair and hopelessness.
 
If you have been feeling stuck, overwhelmed, discouraged, afraid, or unsure how to move forward, this episode will help you start from where you are. Deedee explores why despair has always been a tool to keep us stuck, why hopeless people are easier to control, and why hope makes us harder to silence or shrink. She also talks about the lessons many of us learned during the pandemic: that uncertainty can freeze us, but movement is powerful and can create evidence that change is absolutely possible.
 
Season 2 begins with one powerful question: What do you do when you still want a life you cannot yet see? The answer starts here with a shift in perspective and one small step forward. You are still the leader of your life.
 
If you are struggling with hope, Deedee offers her free book, In the Meantime: Hope, Healing, and Survival for the Tired Heart completely free here.
 
And sign up for the How to Dream Podcast Reflection guide at the following link: How to Dream Podcast Reflection Journal

In this final summer bonus episode of How to Dream, therapist and author Deedee Cummings brings the journaling series home with a simple 30-day journaling plan to help you protect your hope, clear your mind, and take real and meaningful steps toward the life you want to build. This episode turns journaling into a practical hope practice with prompts for clarity, emotional wellness, self-reflection, boundaries, and forward motion. You'll be guided through a "Dream in Motion" journaling exercise to get crystal clear on the life you are moving toward, the truth you need to admit, what you need to protect, what keeps pulling you off track, and the one practical step you can take in the next seven days.
How to Dream will return with Season 2 in September. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen so you'll be notified automatically when new episodes are released. You can also download the first chapter of How to Dream right here in the show notes and be on the lookout for Deedee's next book coming this fall: Journaling for Hope.
 
Get your free first chapter of How to Dream for free here: How to Dream Free Chapter

If you feel drained, overextended, resentful, or like everyone but you has access to your time and energy, this short bonus episode of How to Dream will help you pause and come back to yourself. In this episode, Deedee Cummings shares gentle, practical journal prompts for boundaries to help you identify where you feel depleted, what you may need to stop saying yes to, and what boundary would help protect your peace. You'll be guided through a "Boundary Check-In" journaling practice designed to support emotional wellness, self-care, mental clarity, and healthier relationships. This episode is for anyone learning how to say no, stop overexplaining, protect their energy, and build a life that respects what you need without any of the guilt.

If you've been saying, "I don't know what I want," this short bonus episode of How to Dream will help you slow down, quiet the noise, and hear yourself again. In this episode, therapist and author Deedee Cummings shares simple, practical journal prompts for clarity to help you separate fear from truth, identify what you really want, and take one doable next step. You'll be guided through a "Clarity Session" journaling practice designed to help you identify what you want, what you keep downplaying, what fear has been controlling, and what it may be costing you to stay exactly where you are. This episode is perfect for anyone feeling stuck, overwhelmed, uncertain, burned out, or ready for a new chapter but unsure where to begin.

This short bonus episode of How to Dream is for the heavy days. The days when you feel emotionally tired, overwhelmed, discouraged, or like you're carrying too much. In this episode, Deedee Cummings shares gentle, practical, and easy to follow journal prompts specifically designed for grief, burnout, and stress to help you identify what you're carrying, calm the mental storm, and support yourself without forcing positivity. You'll be guided through a "Heavy Day Support" journaling practice designed to help you process emotions, reduce overwhelm, and choose one small, kind step for the next 24 hours. If you've been trying to hold it together, this episode gives the heaviness you've been holding on to a safe place to land.

If your mind has been racing, spiraling, or stuck in "what if" mode, this short bonus episode of How to Dream is your reset. In this episode, Deedee Cummings shares simple, practical journal prompts for anxiety and overthinking to help you get the mental noise out of your head and onto paper—so you can calm your nervous system, separate fear from facts, and regain clarity. You'll be guided through an Anxiety Reset journaling practice that helps you name what your anxiety is saying, identify what's actually true right now, sort what you can control vs. what you can't, and choose one small step that helps you feel steadier today. Perfect for anxiety support, emotional overwhelm, stress, and the moments when your thoughts won't stop flooding your mind and your spirit.
 
Get your first free chapter of How to Dream here.

Journaling doesn't have to be long, deep, or perfect to be powerful. In this summer bonus episode of How to Dream, Deedee Cummings teaches a simple 3-minute journaling practice designed to reduce mental clutter, calm overwhelm, and bring clarity when your mind feels crowded. If journaling has felt intimidating, time-consuming, or like "too much work," this episode will help you finally make it doable. You'll be guided through four simple lines you can use daily: Right now, I feel... / The real reason is... / One thing that would help by 1% is... / Today, I will...—so you can clear the fog, protect your peace, and keep your dreams moving one small step at a time.