In parts 1-3 of our Visioning series, we showed you the benefits of creating a vision and the best strategies for creating a successful vision.
So have you already crafted your vision or have you hit a roadblock?
Have no fear. Here are some questions to help you gain clarity around your writer’s block.
Are you:
This reduces overwhelm and loosens up your creativity allowing it to flow.
Don’t feel like you have enough time to meditate? Use this four-minute centering and grounding meditation that can be done almost any time, anywhere.
If planning your whole future feels overwhelming, choose the one area of your life you most need and want to change. This is likely where you’re feeling the most resistance, frustration or pain — your primary pain point.
Sit for a minute, focus on it and get really clear on what’s missing and why you need to change. Allow that feeling to build up until you feel a sense of urgency around it.
Take that urgency and prioritize your vision over all the other pressing matters which have been distracting you.
Need more reason? Without your vision to guide you, all of your busy-ness is far less effective and productive.
And know that those distracting urgent matters are just self-sabotage keeping you playing small and safe (see #5).
Once you are clear on your pain point and urgency, turn it into the positive outcome you want.
For instance, if you’re feeling financial pain, flip it to the positive of what you do want. For example, you can say “I am so grateful I am financially free, comfortably living off the residuals of my investments.”
This way, you can leverage both the pain of not achieving your vision (and keeping the status quo) and the pleasure of how you and your life will be once you do succeed. So powerful!
Know that this is a journey and you are exactly where you need to be. Perfection will never happen, and your vision will continue to be a work in progress for your whole life. Successful visionaries continue to evolve and expand their vision as they grow and expand.
To minimize overwhelm, it is best to just free flow your ideas. That’s why I recommend doing a mind map first.
Once you’ve completed your mind map, cut yourself some slack and keep your ideas and vision to top-of-mind rather than trying to create a masterpiece.
A great way to do this is to set a timer and only give yourself a minute or two to write a sentence, point form or even one word. You can always go back and flesh out your thoughts later. And you just might be surprised at how great your top-of-mind ideas actually are!
Whether your vision is two sentences or two pages, there is no right or wrong length.
There is also no right or wrong style. Visions may vary from an emotional feeling-type vision to experience-style. And all are perfect in their own way.
If you’re still feeling blocked after these steps and you answered “yes” to any of the questions at the start, chances are your unconscious mind is trying to derail your best intention to change.
It’s all good.
Self-sabotage is a natural and necessary part of life.
It’s just your unconscious mind’s well-intended way of keeping you in the comfort zone and safe until you prove to it that you’re ready to expand your identity to include your new learning.
Therefore, you experience self-deception every time you’re learning something new, no matter whether you’re on the lookout for it or not.
My advice… make a game out of the self-sabotage. It’s always fun to see how it will show up for you.
In fact, be concerned if you don’t experience it because that means that you’re still in your comfort zone. You’ve actually created just a goal rather than a vision.
And, even if the great deceiver is temporarily successful, you haven’t failed. You can hop back on track.
Research shows that you don’t go back to square one. In fact, you’re hardly set back at all.
And then you’re ready for the magnified rebound.
One of my favorite analogies is from basketball.
When you’re on your half of the court and need to score a basket, your opponent’s hoop is the destination.
You have to dribble to get there. The ball has to fall, bounce back up… fall, bounce back up…fall, bounce back up…
This is the same case in your life. You’re going to fail. Guaranteed.
The key is to use your vision, purpose, and motivation to keep moving you forward so that your failures become your school.
You may also lose the ball on the way and lose ground, yet you don’t stop and say, “Oh well, I no longer have the ball so the game’s over.”
Nope.
You get the ball back and get back on track, keeping your eyes on the end goal at all times.
Like a basketball being dribbled, you have the ability to rebound. And just like that ball, the harder you fall, the higher you are catapulted on the rebound.
Embrace “failing forward” and going for the magnified rebound.
Treat your vision creation like a game and enjoy the journey!
If you’re still having trouble crafting your vision or if you’d like more support and accountability around producing your desired results, join The Big Picture: 30 Days to Creating Visions That Work conditioning program. We’re here to help!