Whether your big dream is to start your own business, become CEO of your company or travel the world, it can be hard to keep pushing forwards sometimes. You start to wonder if you can do it. You start to wonder if you’re reaching too high. Big dreams take a lot of determination and faith.

Whatever your dream is, we all need help at times keeping ourselves motivated. So here are some key things to keep in mind as you strive towards that fantastic, awesome dream of yours:

If you believe you can do it, you can do it.
That may sound like a new age cliché, but some of the most extraordinary dreams were accomplished by people who insisted on believing in themselves, regardless of how many people doubted. The Wright brothers believed that human beings could fly. When you stop and think about it, it still seems like a ridiculous impossibility. And yet, they made it happen. If they could do that, what can’t you accomplish?

When you chase your dreams, you encourage others to chase theirs.
Maybe your coworker has secretly been miserable with her job for months, but she won’t get up the courage to quit until she sees you make a go with your new business. Maybe your daughter has dreams of doing charity work in needy countries when she grows up, but society tells her she should go where the money is. If she sees you following your heart and your passions, regardless of what anyone else thinks of them, imagine the example you’ll be setting for her.

You don’t know what’s possible until you try—and then the possibilities can seem endless.
Every time you get closer to your dream, you open all sorts of new possibilities for yourself. You learn skills you never thought you’d learn. You meet people you never thought you’d meet. And you prove to yourself time and again that you can do whatever you set your mind to. Each of us has within us an infinite number of possibilities; start chasing after them and you’ll be amazed how many more reveal themselves.

The critics know nothing. (That’s why they’re so vocal.)
When you boldly follow a big dream, there will be plenty of people who are eager to tell you why it’s impractical, why it’s impossible, why it’s foolish. Ignore them. They are near-sighted, narrow-minded, and jealous because secretly they had big dreams too, once, but they didn’t have the courage to pursue them. Listening to constructive criticism is one thing, but listening to these naysayers is another. Don’t do it. They’re not worth your energy.

One of the Worst Regrets is “What if?”
Even if you fall short of your dream, or it doesn’t come out exactly the way you envisioned it, at least you’ll have tried. Reaching for the moon and landing among the stars is infinitely better than living a safe, secure life and always wondering if the back of your mind “what could have been.” The journey itself is worth so much. Enjoy every aspect along the way, and know that whatever may come, you are living your life to its fullest.

You only have this life.
We hear it so often that it’s lost its impact on us, but sit back for a second and really, truly contemplate that: This is the only life you have, and you have no idea how much time you will be given. Why in the world would you ever want to spend it doing anything less than chasing your dream?