Helen Keller, the quintessential champion of achievement over adversity, once shared her belief that we need not pity the person who has no sight, but we should feel sorry for the person who has no vision. She was a gifted and insightful person with a remarkably astute mind despite her severe disabilities. She became my childhood hero, and the essence of her words still resonates with me today. Helen Keller’s life embodied the definition of vision: Hope for the future.
Visions are the internal expression of what you want. They are your hope for the future. As part of the process of becoming sentient, you need awareness of what you want to have and what you want to become. Clarity of your vision strengthens your ability to reach your potential. When a vision is magnetic and alluring, you are drawn to it and more motivated to pursue your goals, dreams, and hope for the future. With a clear vision of what you desire, it becomes easier to pull away from that which is undesirable or unfulfilling in your life. A compelling vision energizes your actions and helps you stay on the path toward your potential.
In our childhood, so many of us had an abundance of wonderful visions for our future. Hopes and dreams were like the cotton candy of our mind – sweet and delicious as they swirled through and crystallized in our thoughts. The effervescence of youth held dreams as if they were magical dust that sprinkled itself on our lives. We were only limited by our imagination. Carefree and creative, we energetically pushed forward toward our future.
Somewhere between our youthful innocence and the dogmatic dictates of adult society, it seems that many of us lose the art of dreaming. With the pressures of growing up and facing our adult responsibilities, including the economic and social demands of caring for ourselves, tending to our families, and successfully navigating the world of work, it seems that many individuals simply accept the mediocrity of their lives or, worse yet, dwell on their problems. They don’t dare to dream.
When asked if they are fulfilled and/or living the life they most desire, many respond with an emphatic “no,” but they fail to articulate what it is that would make them happy. They appear to have no hope that things will change because they have no vision. Or even though they still cling to their youthful dreams, they are frustrated because they don’t know how to transform dreams into reality. So, they live passively with their status quo.
I contrast these grown-ups with their youthful counterparts and wonder what happened to the daydreams that fueled their spirit of hope and allowed them to unfailingly persevere toward their goals? What happened to the exuberant childish dreams and creative goals that they set without regard for achievability? What burst their bubble of imagination as they traveled the growth highway from childhood to becoming an adult?
There is a continuum between youthful exuberance and adult aspirations. The movement away from the creative imagination of childhood involves continuous integration with reality. As we develop and mature, our visions need to mature with us to withstand the insecurities and fear inherent in trying to change our reality. In theory, every individual has the same opportunity to move along this continuum and successfully develop and achieve adult dreams. But only those individuals who have the clarity and magnetic power of a mature vision, together with a well-defined action plan (structured process) to keep fear at a minimum, will be able to stay focused and motivated to make their vision happen.
What happens for many people is that there is a point on their growth journey at which they meet a form of reality resistance, and their ability to create a new vision is diminished or lost. These individuals suffer a loss of hope, adopt an “I can’t do this” mentality, and ultimately slip into the comfortable conformity of accepting the status quo. When faced with the practical pressures and restricted thinking of others, they “cop out” and surrender their visions.
By contrast, there are others who appear to have exceptional tenacity and a willingness to persevere in the face of resistance. These individuals not only allow their dreams to mature, but they adapt their approach and use their maturity to develop a form of realistic imagination coupled with a well-defined structured process that keeps fear and insecurity to a minimum and ultimately enables them to stay motivated and focused on their vision. These are the people who are most likely to bring their adult aspirations to fruition.
Their vision is so magnetic and clear that they strive to do whatever is necessary to achieve their goal. An alluring vision coupled with a structured approach to “make it happen” is what brings success. The more magnetic the vision, the more likely that individuals will be pulled toward achieving it, and the more willing they will be to let go of the resistance to obstacles in their way. Individuals who use realistic visions to stay focused on their goals increase the potential for achieving their dream.
To learn more about the art of creating powerful visions visit: The Empowerment Institute website.
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