Michael E. Gerber has rightly said that there is a difference between great people and everyone else. Great people know how to actively create their lives. Others are passively created by their lives waiting to see where life is taking them next. The major difference between the two is living fully and simply existing.
But what does it actually imply when creating a personal vision? It means that you should get yourself prepared for short-term sacrifices so as to attain long-term satisfaction. And do not regret the decisions that you have taken in the past. Rather prepare yourself for what needs your attention and have a vision of the future.
A Majority of us interchangeably use the words "goals" and "vision." However, there underlies a difference between the two terms. And before moving on to know how you can have a vision of future, let me first tell you the difference between these most commonly used expressions.
Vision basically is the destination where you, as an individual, envision a path for yourself. But the path to reach that final destination is unknown to you. This is where your individual goals come into play so as to set the right path for better achievement of your milestones. And having individual goals without having a vision of the future leads only to counterproductive circumstances.
Both the terms are essentially different. However, they need equal attention for you to lead a successful life. As without the one, another cannot survive on its own. Creating a life vision along with having individual goals produces better and realistic results for the success in a position. The two needs to be coupled with each other to remain attainable. However, there is no end to the human imagination whereas goals are pretty particular in their approach. So, this forms another difference where the goals are there to stretch you, but visions stretch and materialize themselves.
Goals are like a persistent test to your changing set of skills and abilities along with the perseverance. Goals are a cluster of checklist that is relatively short-lived. But here is why vision becomes important as it a long-term and constantly occurring effort. It becomes a gradual process, and this is what makes you a successful visionary. Plus this is why creating a life vision becomes important so that you can also accommodate a better goal planning and help your life move forward.
A majority of us take life as it comes to them. We focus more on the events and situations that are current but do not think about the future. Life is about enjoying each moment that happens with us, however, a long-term planning is also significant to broaden our horizons.
#1. Ask Yourself The Right Questions
Before carving out your vision plan, you need to be sure of several things and proceed accordingly. Ask yourself what is your purpose in the world? Know what really pisses you off? Ask yourself how you want to bring about a change in your environment? Ask yourself if there is a movement that you are wanting to create? Find out your philosophies, goals and performance measures? Know what you do each day and how you carry that forward? Know the kind of relationships you have and also want to maintain in future? Where are you heading? Do you have a bigger picture to see in life? Are you really focusing on your priorities, and for that matter, do you even have any priorities to focus on? Are you a good decision maker?
If you do not have the answers to any of these questions, start by writing your first draft. And this is how you will get a clarity of what your life looks like, plus how you can create a personal vision of your future life.
#2. Build For Yourself A Guiding Philosophy
You need to establish for yourself the needed philosophy that will guide you through the way. It is basically the guidelines that will help you create a structured future plan. Where in one place, most people allow their emotions, feelings, and situations to dictate their actions, you should not be the one amongst them. You should become the one who respects his/ her own beliefs, commitments and principles.
You do not have to focus on doing more but focus on becoming more with all that you have. Accept the things you can't change, start practicing gratitude for the things you have and take steps each day to give your 100%. Create your very own guiding principle so you can also watch them transform you for the best. Think of “my vision goal” and base the foundation for attaining success on the principles that will make you become the right version of you. Therefore, do what is the right and not what is the easiest.
#3. Review The Past
It is very important for you to reflect and evaluate your past opportunities that shaped your present. Just think about what happened in the past that led to where you are today. Analyse those experiences and moments that grew you. And you don't just have to analyze a year or two, but go all the way back in your life.
Take a piece of paper, revisit your life and take note of the timeline. Recall all the small and big moments that made the unique version of you. Trigger your memory to think about what you did? Which places did you visit? Did you have any goals that you achieved? What or who impacted you the most? What were the frustrating and unsatisfying moments? What were your struggles? Were you monetarily good?
Your biggest mess could have been a message. Your biggest challenge could have been the most exciting moment. Let yourself cry in the process if you feel so. You don’t have to regret not taking any chances, but you have to learn and pave the way for not committing future mistakes. Motivate yourself to get inspired from all of those moments.
#4. Assess Your Present
Now that you have completed the analysis of your past, make sure to also evaluate your current situation. Do not forget to access each of the things happening with you right now.
Ask yourself what is the quality of your family relationships that you are making? Ask yourself if you enjoy your work? Know how satisfied are you when it comes to your finances? Ask yourself if you are satisfied with your physical as well as emotional health? Are you investing the required time in your personal development? Are you having any interests outside your work field and family areas? Are you living up to your moral values? Are you making any contribution to the community?
It is when you start assessing all those areas is what will make you take a leap in future. You will accurately know the areas of improvement and the areas which require to be kept untouched. A convincing vision will be created on the basis of how true you are to yourself regarding your past and present state.
#5. Keep Your Emotions In Check
You might never be able to see a clear vision of yours if emotions keep clogging the way. The emotional imbalance fogs up the outcome of anything that you visualize. You get stuck, and nothing seems to be visible beyond the temporary circumstances that life throws at you. The long-term perceptions get completely blocked. It keeps you away from predicting what can come in a particular situation and how would you need to handle the same. However, when you learn to get a control over your emotions, it becomes easy for you to detach from affections and without any bias, witness the truth that waits.
#6. Do Not Ever Think Of Giving Up
If you think that simply having to know how you can have a vision for the future will solve the problem, then you are wrong my friend. There are several things that need to be planned beforehand along with preparing yourself for both the best and the worst. However, on this road, you will experience breaks and bumps along with people that will keep you away from reaching the destination. But, this is your actual examination where you do not have to allow others to get you intimidated. You just have to keep walking on your path and remember that it is a mission that you need to accomplish. The mission is incredible, and it must not block you from giving your best.
#7. Creativity, Perseverance, And Action
These three aspects that an individual can conquer, make him/ her well-versed with carving out a better existence. One can automatically begin to manifest a personal vision that is very well-blended with the reality. And for this, you will have to see the world not only with the two eyes that you have but also with the third one that pertains to your mind. It is an omniscient and omnipotent tool one can ever rely on. The two eyes present on the outside may view a new house you have been thinking about recently. But the mind’s eye sees a home for your kids to play in. Creative thinking along with better perseverance and thoughtful action makes you create a life vision that paves a smooth road for tomorrow.
At the end, you will have to bring it all together at one place. If you cannot imagine the future, you cannot probably create a vision. And if you cannot create the same, you probably cannot enjoy it as well. Evaluate your life’s purpose, its guiding philosophy along with your personal performances and perspectives. This will make you picture your future in a forward-looking, comprehensive and conscious way. Liked what you just read? Want to read more such informational stuff? Or would you like to share any of your personal experiences/ opinion? Let us know through the comment section below. We would love to hear from you!
26 Opinions
3 Opinions
