The one part of the body that most people say they couldn’t live without is their sight. Seeing is important to us all. Having the ability to see what is coming, what is in front of us, and what is behind us has its place in life. Vision. The ability to see. In business, vision is something on the horizon that we want to see come to fruition. Vision is important because it is not always something that can be seen in the present, but something that is to come.
Vision For The Future
Very few businesses will ever meet or exceed their goals without vision. Vision is what gets us up in the morning and drives us to complete the work to achieve results. I have yet to meet a business owner who wants to stay stagnant in their business. One of the best ways to construct a vision is by creating a vision board. The act of vision boarding opens up the senses and the brain to see beyond what we can put on a computer screen. It is no surprise that the most successful people on the planet have a physical vision board somewhere in their office. Looking forward though is not the only vision needed. Vision must also be in the here and now.
Vision In The Present
Future planning, dreaming, goal setting and the like are essential elements to growing your business and becoming an MVP in your field. Yet, we can get too focused on the future that we forget that we must act today… Now. Presently. Acting in the present keeps our focus. Taking any action towards moving your business forward is critical. Without action, procrastination will set in. There are tasks that must be done daily, sometimes these tasks become mundane (updating the calendar, filtering and filing emails) and we can end up with countless hours scrolling social media and then justifying it as ‘research’ or something else to try to trick ourselves into thinking we are productive. The truth is these daily mundane tasks push us to those future goals. To avoid that mundane feeling from setting in, it is also important to be able to see where we have come from.
Vision From The Past
This may well be the most important element of vision, that of the past. Hindsight is of course 20/20 and should be taken advantage of, yet with the right perspective. The past should be like the review mirror of the car when we are driving. We need to be moving forward but looking at where we have just come from. The past is a great place to see what is working and what is not so we can adjust as necessary.
Beyond that, the past is awesome at reminding us of how we felt going through it. This can prove to be some of the most valuable information we can obtain. How we feel during certain times of being or doing can become the greatest motivation for how we walk through the present and into the future. Emotions are the glue that solidifies what meaning the past has in our present and in our future. Take an inventory of your past and use it to develop your future while working presently.
Vision is sight, not always what we can physically see, but what we learn to see. I have met some amazing people who are physically blind yet have such great clarity of vision. What do you see as your vision for the future that you are acting on today from the lessons of yesterday? Share in the comments.