{"id":625,"date":"2010-04-02T14:17:00","date_gmt":"2010-04-02T14:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev.wpdude.com\/test\/?p=625"},"modified":"2010-04-02T14:17:00","modified_gmt":"2010-04-02T14:17:00","slug":"the-paradox-of-having-a-vision-and-not-knowing-what-it-looks-like","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.integrationtraining.co.uk\/blog\/2010\/04\/the-paradox-of-having-a-vision-and-not-knowing-what-it-looks-like\/","title":{"rendered":"The Paradox of having a \u2018Vision\u2019 and Not \u2018knowing what it looks like\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nGuest blogger Joolz Lewis “the corporate hippy<\/a>” discusses vision:<\/p>\n

……………..<\/div>\n
\n

\u201cPain pushes\u2026 Vision pulls\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Whether you\u2019re stuck in a job you don\u2019t enjoy and dreaming of a \u2018better way\u2019, you\u2019re running a successful and established business, or you\u2019re just starting out on your own; having a vision is absolutely necessary to keep you going in those \u2018dark nights of the soul\u2019. Why? Because there are two forces that will both work to keep you moving in the direction of your \u2018deepest intent\u2019 – your intent to use your work as a platform from which to show up and serve, and to make a difference. One of those forces is quite simply \u2018pain\u2019. The pain of not being fulfilled, of knowing that there\u2019s something \u2018more\u2019, of feeling like your soul is like a bird trapped in its cage, aching to break free and express its true purpose. The pain of uncertainty, of anxiety re. decision making and getting new business. Pain pushes you forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the other end of the spectrum, there\u2019s the vision. Vision is what pulls you forward – it inspires you, it motivates you, it energises you, and it\u2019s what drives you to never give up on the dream. Vision is a dream turned into possibility. Pain pushes\u2026 vision pulls. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Paradox<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Enter the paradox. How to have a vision that is \u2018real\u2019, and clear, without really knowing what it\u2019s going to look like? How is it possible to commit to a vision, at the same time as surrender the detail of how it might look? And should a vision be achievable and realistic, or should it be grand and inspiring in its audacity?<\/span><\/p>\n

What Vision Is<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Firstly, vision is about envisaging what \u2018different\u2019 might look like. Many people are nervous of having a \u2018big\u2019 vision; for fear that it might paralyse them. I was one of those. My vision has always been for a world wherein people work in business from a place of purpose and passion, for mutual win-win-win (employee-customer-planet). At first, the vision was barely a whisper. I couldn\u2019t even articulate it, it seemed so huge, so much bigger than me, I didn\u2019t dare speak it. But that\u2019s the point of vision – in order to be inspiring, a vision has to involve other people, it has to extend beyond our limited selves, our current way of being. So by default, it\u2019s impossible to know exactly what our vision will look like when realised. Having a vision is different to knowing what it will look like. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Once you have a vision, you can more easily identify what your purpose is in relation to it. It provides a framework for you to define a business mission, from which achievable and realistic goals can be set. <\/span><\/p>\n

How you Relate to It<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Now for the second part – how do you move towards the vision, without a clear idea of what it will look like? By necessity, if your vision is \u2018bigger than you\u2019, it\u2019ll be difficult to know exactly what it will look like, or what your life will look like in relation to it. So there are two parts to this paradox. <\/span><\/p>\n

1) Imagine your vision. You can\u2019t \u2018know\u2019 what it will look like, but you can imagine it. I highly recommend doing a collage exercise, to allow you to imagine what it might look like to you. Make a ritual out of it – draw, cut up magazines, paint it. Do visualisation exercises. Write and use affirmations starting with \u2018I contribute directly to a world in which [vision]\u2019. Find a piece of music that resonates with the spirit of your vision. Feel it – what does your vision feel like in your body? What are the emotions you associate with this vision?<\/span><\/p>\n

2) AND, focus on the here and now. What small step(s) can you take – right now – that will move you in the direction of your vision? Have you got realistic goals that you can achieve relatively quickly so you can make progress and not lose motivation along the way? Listen to your inner guidance and intuition on a daily or minimum weekly basis, and pay attention to those subtle \u2018nudges\u2019 you get – the ideas that come to you in the middle of the night, on a train home from work, or while walking on the beach. Follow them up. Pay attention to how you feel while performing tasks or activities that support your vision – if you are energised, motivated, enthused and passionate about what you\u2019re doing then you\u2019re on the right track.<\/span><\/p>\n

Possibility Consciousness<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The most important piece of this paradox is that both having a vision, and moving towards it, means living in \u2018possibility consciousness\u2019. You can imagine what it might look like, and surrender the \u2018having to know\u2019. On a daily basis you can stay open and available to possibility, to the daily evidence that your vision is revealing itself – perhaps not in its entirety, but glimpses that show you that you\u2019re on the right track, that you are in fact making a difference, that you are living your purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guest blogger Joolz Lewis “the corporate hippy” discusses vision: …………….. \u201cPain pushes\u2026 Vision pulls\u201d Whether you\u2019re stuck in a job you don\u2019t enjoy and dreaming of a \u2018better way\u2019, you\u2019re running a successful and established business, or you\u2019re just starting out on your own; having a vision is absolutely necessary to keep you going in those \u2018dark nights of the soul\u2019. Why? Because there are two forces that will both work to keep you moving in the direction of your \u2018deepest intent\u2019 – your intent to use your work as a platform from which to show up and serve, and <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":652,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[927],"tags":[1140,1409,1860],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.integrationtraining.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/vision11.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9xvDN-a5","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.integrationtraining.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.integrationtraining.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.integrationtraining.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.integrationtraining.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.integrationtraining.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.integrationtraining.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.integrationtraining.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.integrationtraining.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.integrationtraining.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.integrationtraining.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}