Creating a Vision Beyond Ourselves
When planning for future endeavors, you first have to know yourself and where you are in life in order to see what is next. What are your strengths and your skills? What makes you unique? How do you think others see you? A simple exercise is to text 3-5 people and ask them to send you a few words they feel best to describe you. Explain to them you are creating your vision and need to get an accurate assessment of yourself. Once you have received the adjectives, take a blank sheet of paper and write a description of yourself.
Reflect on the version of yourself that you recounted. Is it accurate? Did your friends and family see something in you that you didn’t realize? Some things you might aspire to be? Or did it fall short of your expectations? When I did this exercise, I was happy that our family’s core values were highlighted, though using a different word. “Determined” is how one person described me, which I correlated to our value of perseverance. “A good daughter, sister, and mother” to me translated to my importance of family. Adjectives such as “kind, caring, generous, and authentic” fit with the core value of integrity. And “smart” aligned with our objective of knowledge.
“Knowledge: We learn from experiences, explore new possibilities and inspire each other”
— Hoge Family Core Values
There were some descriptors that might have highlighted more of a youthful me. When one characterized me as “adventurous,” I thought yes, I jumped out of an airplane, traveled through Europe by myself, and hitchhiked across Wisconsin. Another said I was “fun.” Maybe in my youth, but that was my pre-kid, pre-worrier self. Heck, now during Covid-19, I don’t even want to leave our property, much less go across the ocean.
This, however, is the point of our exercise. How can we create a vision beyond what is in our minds? We sometimes box ourselves into a routine of living. Our goals lean to something we already know is possible to achieve. But what about something that is beyond our wildest dreams? A vision for the future that we have neither the strengths nor skills to achieve yet.
My passion for books, specifically motivational books, inspires my reflection continuously. Think and Grow Rich, The Power of Positive Thinking, and Man’s Search for Meaning are all classics that adorn my library bookshelves. Some new favorites like Girl Wash Your Face, Make Your Bed, and Mindset has influenced me to expand past my comfort zone. After attending a seminar on getting to the next level, the speaker instructed us to write down a number on how much we wanted to earn. She then said, okay now that you wrote it down, double it. After the initial shock on how that wouldn’t be possible, it became a thought exercise on what would it take to achieve something beyond what the mind thought was attainable.
Carol Dweck, author of the book Mindset wrote, “The mindset we adopt is a huge predictor of our success and achievement. Nearly every area of human endeavor can be influenced by the mindset we adopt and how we select to approach our goals.” If we believe in a fixed mindset, we are stagnant in skills development, whereas a growth mindset doesn’t limit you to your current abilities. This paradigm shift allows for maximum accomplishments. It may even allow you to reach your full potential.
In order to dream past your normal goal-setting plans, retreat to a place to relax, to think. Aileron, a business development community, has a dream room with puffy white clouds, blue “skies” and soft white leather sofas to enjoy while you plan the future. Going for a walk in nature to contemplate life and legacy is beneficial. We are fortunate to have 280 acres at Belle-Hampton to gaze across pastures of cows or other aspects of nature - eagles, deer, bears, and even an occasional coyote. At a minimum, get in a relaxing environment to dream.
After deciding on a setting, ask the big questions. Start with, “How old will you be in ten years?” What will your life be like then? How will your personal, family, and career circumstances have changed by that date? Remember, whatever your first thought is, think bigger. Put in details to paint a vivid picture. Once you have determined your priorities, it is time to rank them in order of importance. What is the most important to you and why? Once a list is written down, designing your life’s strategic plan will be the next discussion.
Have you started to create your vision? Shift your thinking to a growth mindset outlook.
“Your attitude is your altitude. It determines how high you fly.” Anonymous
