Here is an interesting story from the world of race car driving. One of the most important things beginning race car drivers learn is what to do when they lose control of the car and spin. The natural reaction is to focus on the wall or other object they want to avoid. Because their focus is on the wall, that’s usually where they end up. Instead of focusing on the wall, drivers learn to focus on where they want to go. This allows them to avoid walls, stay on course, and go where they want to go.
What does this have to do with the power and force of vision?
Just about everything.
In my counseling experience, I have found that the approach most of us take in life is to “make it up as you go along.” And then we wonder why things end up so messy. It’s like the old saying, “if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.”
Even when we have a plan, it is only a partial plan. Then when our plan doesn’t work, or hits the wall, we don’t know where to go and we give up.
To be successful in life, I believe we must have a clear vision of what we want, in all areas of our lives. Even if we have a lot of desire, energy, and motivation, without a clear direction and vision, we can end up a “dead atheist.” All dressed and with nowhere to go.
Why have vision?
So let’s look at how to create vision in several key areas of our lives.
There is a proverb that says “without vision, the people perish”. I think we can extend that parable and say without a vision:
a wedding perishes
a family perishes
a race perishes
A vision of marriage
One of my favorite things to do is help a couple create a vision for their relationship. Most people spend more time planning a two-week vacation than they do planning what they want their relationship to look like. Here’s a key question: “If we could design this relationship any way we wanted, what would it look like?” How would you do?
hang out?
interact and communicate with each other?
plan for your future?
spend money?
help each other grow?
a family view
We live in a society where the average family spends just fourteen and a half minutes a day all together. I don’t think that’s what we really want.
So here are some key questions for creating a family vision.
What do we value most as a family?
How do we want to spend our time?
What legacy do we want to leave for future generations?
What impact would we like to have in our community?
A career vision
We spend most of our adult waking hours at work. However, it is one of the main areas of life where we tend to stumble and catch up as we go. Here are some key questions to help you create a vision for your career.
What are your dreams for your career?
How would you like to spend your working hours?
What would make you wake up every day excited to go to work?
Do you want to earn a living or make a living?
The answers to these questions can help you begin to create a vision in each of these key areas. You can add other areas and other questions as well. The next step is to immediately begin taking small daily actions to achieve each of these goals.
I will end with an example of the power of vision in our lives. Picture yourself sitting at home at the kitchen table, with a large juicy lemon on a plate in front of you. Now take a knife and cut the lemon in half. Smell and feel the juice. Now cut a slice from the middle. More juice, more smell. Cut that slice in half. More juice, more smell. Now take that half, bring it to your face, smell it, and then bite into it. If you’re like most people and did this exercise, you have a bit of moisture in your mouth right now.
Here’s the really cool stuff. There is no lemon. You created a physiological response in your body through the power of vision.
And so it can be as you gain a clear vision of what you want in life. The clearer his vision, the faster his brain will respond.
So clear up and get going.