Personally speaking, there is nothing worse than reaching for opportunities that don’t really exist or striving to work hard on strategies and concepts that have no real chance of ever being implemented. Nothing really happens when you don’t know where you are going. Actually, a lot happens. The vision of other people happens to you.
Finding your real vision can be extremely easy or painfully difficult. The choice is yours. Creating your own vision gives you the gift of inspired change. This gift is a continuous source of motivation and encouragement. You never have to worry about where you should aim your career or personal life. You’ll understand without a doubt where you are going and why you believe you should get there. Your vision is at once an effort of destiny that has to be found and simultaneously an exercise of creation that emerges only with real focus and practice.
One of my favorite authors and training experts Stephen Covey says that you should begin everything you do with the end in mind. How often do you ask yourself “where am I going?” or “why am I going there?” Keeping the answers to these questions in front of you regularly and making the commitment to move in the direction of your highest goals and aspirations every day. I promise this will help to transform your life in a positive way. Think of yourself in the future. What kind of person do you want to be? What do you want to be doing most often? Spend some scheduled time on this and don’t worry about possibilities or “so-called” realistic thinking. Just let your mind roam free. Spend the next few days working on lists of ideas that support the answers to these questions and keep them in your journal or some sort of notebook for review.
Now turn your attention to the whys. Spend the next few days writing exhaustively about the reasons why you want to achieve these goals. Remember to only spend a small amount of time each day on this no matter how much you are tempted to do more. It’s important to pace yourself and not try to rush to the finish line. The whys will help you really explore your deepest feelings and heartfelt values. You’ll need to stay in touch with these to implement any meaningful strategy for self-development and change later on.
Finally, you are ready to actually begin the process of capturing your vision. I’ve seen people use various tools and techniques to capture and record this information. Some prefer to write vision statements while others prefer to use images in pictures or paintings. You may even find yourself wanting to use music or poetry to capture your vision. It’s important to remember that whatever medium you choose, it is essential that it be personally empowering and motivating. It should make you happy to reflect on your vision, maybe even give you a deep sense of spiritual satisfaction. If not your work is not done.
Relationships both for business and personal reasons can only bloom with vision. In order for people to find true synergy and really move relationships forward, there must be a unified vision of where the relationship is going. Both people will find ways to compliment each other, suggest meaningful ideas for growth and devise unique strategies that support the development of the relationship. In business, we tend to be hesitant for no reason. If you really believe in the quality of your product or service why not show people what you are all about, just not in a pushy salesman sort of way. Try having meaningful conversations that build connections between you and your prospects. Focus on who you really are and what you really mean. It will make all the difference when people can see the real you and grow to trust that person.
Institutions and major organizations totally revolve around vision. True leaders are responsible for providing and managing vision with conviction and consistency. There is nothing more special than when teammates truly understand in fact develop a passion around the organization’s highest aspirations. Belief and trust run high and people feel plugged into success and productivity. Less bureaucracy and regulations are more the norm as trust runs high while quality service is delivered exceptionally with blinding speed and accuracy. The bonds created by a solid well developed and well-communicated vision is incredible.
You can tell when vision is really working. There is a clarity that begins to define each moment. There’s no second guessing and people are able to give each other the benefit of the doubt in a big way. Mistakes are tolerated and rebounded from quickly. Organizations with real vision don’t have the time to play the blame game with team members. No one would even think about getting involved with petty politics or try to one-up each other. There’s only constant innovation and creativity as everyone strives to make relevant advances toward the ultimate vision. Everyone knows where the team is heading.
The absence of vision is simply the opposite. It’s like being lost, with no focus or direction. There are both absolute confusion and chaos. People tend to create mounds of paperwork and reams of regulations to try and justify their very existence. Rationalized behavior takes the place of inspired movement while people seem to stumble around as if they have no real purpose, no real mission.
I’m really interested in your thoughts on this particular aspect of vision. Feel free to share any of your ideas or feedback in the comment section below.
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