Elements of a Solid Vision
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Creating your world begins with documenting a vision. Steven Covey, in his classic book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, describes this process as beginning with the end in mind. The starting point is the end, where you want to finish.
Often when asked what we want for our life, we offer generic thoughts such as “I want to be happy,” “to be my own boss” or “have a good job” which are certainly things we want… but they are so vague it would be hard to make day to day decisions or be inspired based upon these visions. There are 6 dimensions of a vision that will lead you closer toward fulfillment:
- Imaginable – it should paint a picture in your mind
- Desirable – it should be what you want for your life – not what someone else wants – in order for you to feel satisfied as you move towards it
- Feasible – it needs to be within reason… it would be hard for me to become an opera singer!
- Focused – it must be clear enough that you will know when you are on course and when you are not
- Flexible – while focused, it must also be general enough to allow alternative responses in light of changing conditions… we can’t always predict the shape of conditions
- Integrated – it should integrate both work and life … when we only do a vision for one portion of our life, we end up with a life that is out of balance.
When you have all six of these elements in your vision, you next want to work on be able to communicate your vision in a short period of time. By communicating your vision, you invite others to join with you or to at least be more understanding when you go in a different direction.
In my next article, I will share some examples of how to create strategies and actions that support a solid vision.
By the way, if you’d like to connect in person on this topic, come join me at when I speak as part of the Key Collective in Chicago on Creating Your Business Plans: Visioning & Goal Setting. When you register enter ANN101, you will get 70 dollars off! You can find out more about this event at www.thehumanconnectionbykey.eventbrite.com – hope to see you there!
Tags: creativity, direction, motivation, Success, vision
Inspiration, Success, vision | Ann Potts January 8, 2012
Ann Potts is a highly credentialed Strategic Executive Coach & Motivational Consultant with more than 20 years experience in corporate leadership roles. An uncommon background gives her unique insight into the power of harnessing inner strengths to engage on a challenging corporate playing field.
