Define your vision

Vision

/ˈvɪʒ(ə)n/

“The ability to think about or plan the future with imagination or wisdom”.

If we are ever engaged in a long conversation, expect to hear me talk about vision. I am a broken record, and it is a topic I love to challenge myself and others on. I am a woman of faith, and I am also a woman who meticulously plans. While planning has its pros and cons, today, I am going to focus on how this type of thinking has led me to the position I am in today. Every decision I make is strategic, nothing I do is "just because" Even when things do not work out, it is a given that some level of deep thought and strategic thinking went into my decision and I am likely to have a backup plan. Resilience is my bag.

Vision

 When I talk about the vision I have for my life, I am talking about an all-encompassing viewpoint. I am talking about a core set of principles I have in particular areas of life that come together to reveal what I want my life to look like. My vision is my vibe. It is not a set of goals, and it is not a five-year plan. In some ways, it is something that cannot be articulated very easily. So now you are confused, and you want to know what this is all about. The simplest way is to share my thinking is to bring you along.

 A few years ago, I was working for a publisher, and I had just been promoted. A friend challenged me with the question "What is your ultimate goal?". As with most people, I reiterated a few facts about earning potential, entrepreneurship and a big house, but these things felt trivial as if I was spewing out a script around what I should be saying. At the time, people around me were talking about their 3-5 year plans and I was terrified about penning any sort of plan, so instead, I sought refuge in vision thinking.

 So, let us get into it. In order to have some structure, because I love structure, I have broken down vision planning into a few key areas – these are the groups I use. However, it is by no means restrictive, and the statements below are for illustrative purposes only.

Financial vision

• I want to have earnings that allow me to x

• I want a disposable income that permits me to x

• I want long term investments in x

• I want to be able to donate x amount to charities per year

Career vision

• I want to be a CEO of x

• I want to own an x type of company,

• I want to sit on the board of x

• I want to mentor x amount people

 Lifestyle vision

• I want to travel x times a year

• I want a holiday home in x

• I want to travel often with my friends

• I want to swim every Saturday morning

Relationship vision

• I want a partner who sees me for me,

• I want healthy open dialogue within my relationship

• I want a teammate in everything

  Personal vision

• I want to feature on the New York Times bestsellers list

• I want to sew x times a week

• I want a studio where I can paint

 Family vision

• I want to spend time with my family often

• I want my children to want for nothing

• I want to make as many experiences as a family as possible

As you will notice from the example statements, they are clear and concise. They are the foundation of painting the picture of your vision. They work together to provide a window, but they do not offer much insight into how you will get there. Disclaimer, your vision is YOURS. It should not be guided or aided by anybody outside of you. If your financial vision is to be debt-free, then that is brilliant. If your family vision Is to create a home for rescue cats, then that is also fine. Get comfortable with your vision in all its rawness and quirks.

 You have written down your vision statements, what next?

The how

My next step is to define the goals that bring me a step towards obtaining my vision. If you imagine the vision sitting at the top of the hierarchy, the goals are the stepping stones required to achieve that.

 Let take the personal vision statement of "I want to feature on the New York Times bestsellers list" as an example.

Meet Sally,

She is 25,

She enjoys writing but has never committed to sharing her writing outside of Tumblr

She has been told she should write more.

Regardless of her current position, she has a vision of one day featuring on the New York Times bestsellers list.

Let us break down what her goals towards this could look like, and I would like to reiterate that your goals are YOURS. You may have the same Vision as Sally, but your goals and plans may be different. 

Sally is going to write and share her pieces weekly

Sally is going to create a website to focus her writing and increase readership

Sally is going to enter creative writing competitions twice a year

Sally is going to write a short story

Sally is going to publish her short story

You should get my drift; the goals supporting the vision are the stepping stones. Your vision should have a set of goals underneath guiding you.

The exciting part, and the part where you really take control over your life, is when you start to set goals based on a holistic picture. At the time of working for the publisher, property investment was firmly in my vision and in order to get there, I had a short term goal of buying my first property.

 My career goals supported it; I worked for a good company and had many prospects for growth; I felt secure.

 My personal goals supported it; I felt ready to manage the responsibility of owning a property.

 I was happy for my lifestyle goals to take a back burner, purchasing a property meant I had to watch my expenditure.

 Family goals supported it; I had everyone on board with moving out and what that meant for us all.

 My relationship goals supported it, I was in a relationship at the time, and we were prepared.

 The only thing that was missing was the financial goals. I simply did not earn enough to afford the deposit and all other costs in the timeframe I set myself, so what did I do? I found another job. In fact, I found three different roles. See the thing with achieving your vision, is everything has to work in equilibrium. When it does not, you have to be prepared to make a change and do something bold or uncomfortable. Now I am not suggesting you quit your job for more money. Of the three job offers I had, I selected the company that contributed towards my career vision in terms of the strategic benefit of having that company on my CV and also exposure to different industries. I didn’t select the company who were paying the most, because I saw an opportunity to take a big step towards my career vision.

I digress, In summary, in order to take a step towards my lifestyle goal of property investment, I had to adapt a career goal and subsequently improve my financials. I enjoyed working for that company, but unfortunately, that company stopped working for me and was not helping me make tracks towards my vision. I remember when I handed in my notice, I articulated the above and I remember the blank stare back. It was the truth, and I have no regrets.

 This here lies the beauty of vision planning. It reminds you what the ultimate viewpoint is and encourages you to make the right decisions on a day to day basis.

 So some rules,

- The vision can change, life happens, and priorities shift, that is ok.

- If the vision changes adapt the plans straight away, try to be in a position where you always know what you are shooting for even if the goals are blurry.

- It is fine for the plans to change, so long as the vision remains clear.

 I swear by vision planning, not only has it helped me to plan, but it has also helped me deal with changes. We can plan as much as we like, but the reality is life happens, and things change. When you are focussing on a vision as opposed to a strict set of plans, it gives you the confidence to adapt your plans and gives you the resilience needed to push through in hardship.

 So, what is your vision?