After nearly a decade of being in love with yoga, I made a courageous decision. I decided that I wanted to become a yoga teacher. I thought,how hard could it be? It's just talking.

As with almost anything that requires commitment, there's a honeymoon phase, followed by the phase when things don't look so bright and you wonder why you were ever there to begin with.

After having gone through this recently, I made a list for those who will chase or are chasing a dream:

1. Remember that it's meant to challenge you.

Growth doesn't happen by living in stability, comfort or ease. The only way that growth can occur within you is if you can find something that challenges you, and work through it. You may feel overwhelmed by challenge at some point, but the reward of achieving your dream is way more fulfilling than never going after what you want to achieve at all.

2. Be careful who you ask for advice.

While chasing your dream you'll get to a point where you want to give up. You'll question the cause of your dream and question whether you should continue. During this time, be cautious with where you seek advice. Unless someone can relate to what you are going through, don't ask for counsel! Find wisdom from those who are encouraging of your dream, and who understand what it means to you.

3. Believe in yourself.

The only way you'll be able to follow through with your commitment to your dream is by believing that you can do it. Others can tell you that you're capable; however, their opinion only goes so far if you don't believe that you are capable yourself. In addition, if you believe in yourself, when others doubt you it isn't worth being concerned about because you have found faith in yourself, and that's all that matters.

4. Be open to failure and rejection.

It takes a lot of courage to give everything that you have to a goal when it might be criticized, judged or rejected. There is a big possibility that you will give everything that you have only to have a failure slapped in your face. Many see failure as an ending, when it could be a beginning of another journey that leads to your dream.

5. Start trying today.

In a year, you'll wish that you'd started today what you hope to achieve. If you don't try today, how will you feel in a year? Time passes quicker than we can sometimes grasp, and today will eventually lead to the following year. Don't just sit around and think about what you want; do it!