Often, when we are told to "make peace with" something, it’s in a challenging context, as in "make peace with" your current weight, bank account, relationship, etc. And indeed, the only way to move forward toward whatever your desired goal is to first make peace with wherever you’re at in that journey. So yes, by all means, do that!

But the one "make peace with" we rarely think about is to "make peace with your dreams." Too often, we dismiss our dreams and desires as too far-fetched, impossible, unreachable, and we stop before we start. Or we start, and then halfway there we figure, "Oh, this is ridiculous; I’ll never make it" so we give up on our dreams.

Don’t do that to yourself! Did you know that what makes for success—at anything and everything—is the dynamite combination of passion and perseverance? It's what researcher Angela Duckworth PhD calls "grit," sometimes thought of as "great results in time." No one exemplifies passion plus perseverance better than Jahkee Johnson. Jahkee was born with shortened legs and deformities in his knees and ankles, which caused both legs to be amputated when he was just an infant. But Jahkee had a passion; he wanted to play in his high school’s marching band, and he wanted to play—of all things—the tuba.

Now, most would say, "impossible!" A tuba is a big heavy instrument, and how is a boy going to march without legs, much less play the tuba and march at the same time? But Jahkee made peace with his dream. He knew what he wanted, and he was sure he was going to make it happen. Period. With that kind of determination, you can guess the rest of the story. At 15, Jahkee began marching in his high school’s band with the help of padded shoes so he can walk right along with his bandmates, first with a tuba and now a trombone. Sure, it took a few weeks for him to get the hang of the shoes and the marching, but what the heck?! That’s the nature of perseverance...grit!

What’s the dream you’ve given up on? I’m not talking about a whim, or an idle fantasy, as in "I wanna be a millionaire"—who doesn’t? A passion would be "I want to be a millionaire. I have ideas worth the time and effort and creativity it takes to succeed at my dream." So what’s the dream you have, with passion behind it, that you need to make peace with in order to succeed?

Noelle C. Nelson, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, consultant, popular speaker in the U.S. and abroad, and author of over a dozen best-selling books. Dr. Nelson focuses on how we can all enjoy happy, fulfilling lives while accomplishing great things in love, at home and at work, as we appreciate ourselves, our world and all others. She is the author of "The Longevity Secret: How to Live Happy, Healthy & Vibrant into Your 70s, 80s, 90s and Beyond" You Matter. You Count. You Are Important. Visit www.noellenelson.com, Facebook.com/MeetTheAmazings, #MeetTheAmazings, @drnoellenelson.