Growing up, we had all these amazing visions for our lives. Astronauts, prime ministers, presidents, firemen, athletes, musicians, dancers. I could go on! Most of us didn’t become any of these. Why? For the most part, we adjusted our life expectations and goals based on the feedback we got from our loved ones who would tell us what we could and couldn’t do.
Sometimes that feedback was realistic and came from a place of pure love. Other times it aligned more with what they wanted for us, rather than what we wanted for ourselves. And this started to shape our thoughts, ideas, and beliefs around what we wanted and what we were capable of. We were given limiting beliefs by our close family and friends and held onto them as we grew up.
Maybe you were told you couldn’t do art, just because you can’t paint. Maybe you were encouraged to give up dancing for something more “constructive” to do with your time. Maybe you gave up on a career choice under the impression you weren’t clever enough. How many of these kinds of beliefs were you given and still believe to be true today?
What part of that artist is still inside you? Or that dancer? What’s the one job/career that you’ve always wondered in the back of your head if they really where right and it was out of your league? If you had a blank sheet of paper, knowing what you do about yourself now (your strengths, interests, hobbies, passions), who is the person that fills that sheet? What are your gifts, your talents, your vision for your life?
Once you have that vision, here are 3 key things you need to do to keep it alive:
1. Affirm Your Vision
Do whatever you need to do to remind yourself of your vision. Get comfortable with defining yourself as your vision. If you can’t identify yourself with your vision, it will be difficult for others to see you that way too. I’ll share with you my personal example.
My vision for my life is to be 100% self-employed as a career and life coach, helping people around the world to find their happiness in their career and life. If I’m to affirm my vision, I’ve got to get as comfortable introducing and identifying myself by saying “I am a career coach” as I am today saying “my name is Jenny”.
At the end of the day, the more you say your vision out loud, the more you’ll believe it, and others will start to believe you too – especially when they catch that twinkle in your eye when you start to speak about your passion and your choice to pursue it.
2. Never Judge Your Clarity on How Other People Respond
You’ve spent time reflecting, thinking, pondering, and you’ve had a few ah ha moments along the way. You have crafted your vision, stumbled upon it, had it smack you in the face in a moment of “well duh”. You’ve made your first steps in your journey to realising your vision by identifying yourself with it and constantly affirming it in your head and out loud in the privacy of your own space.
Now you are feeling the urge to share it with the world. But who do you tell? Who will understand? You find a way to bring it into conversation, and you are hurt, confused, and angry at their comments and response. They just don’t get it. You give up explaining. It’s not supposed to be like this.
They’ve made you wobble. Second guess yourself. No! You are clear on your vision. Your path. It’s not for others to interfere. You know what you are doing and why you are doing it. You’ve put hours of thought and reflection into it. And even if you are not sure of the how right now, have faith that it will come to you in time.
3. Be Still
So you might be clear around the what and why, but find yourself struggling with the how. Great! If it were easy, everyone would be following their vision at break neck pace! However, for most, changing their vision for their lives, searching for a path in the new direction, and leaving behind what needs to be left can be the journey of a lifetime. Have patience with yourself that the how will come to you.
In those quiet moments, listen to your thoughts. Pay attention, look, and listen to the world around you and see it through the eyes and ears of your vision. Notice the coincidences that cross your path. Sit back and let your vision come to find you. Allow the pennies to drop.
Pushing it, asking how, or searching for a direction to take at the cross roads will not get you there any faster. There is a universal law at work that will allow you to find and discover exactly what you need when you need it. Your job is to keep talking about, looking, listening, and following your choices to keep things moving in the right direction.
It Starts with a Seed…
For your vision to grow, you have to nurture it. Start with a small step. Feed it and care for it. Don’t expose it too early to people who are not going to support it at this stage or in future stages. Allow your courage to replace your fear. Take a leap of faith from time-to-time that allows your heart to thump.
Your vision is yours. No-one else’s. They can’t see what you see. Your life is yours and you get to live it in a way that should make you happy. Going through the motions, turning up every day to a job you don’t even like, feeling caught in a relationship you don’t want any more are all things we’ve allowed to happen.
Contact me for a free 1-hour coaching call to get some real clarity on what’s not working for you in your life and/or career and we can determine together what your next steps will be.