Your Vision
What’s a Vision?
“A vision is not just a picture of what could be; it is an appeal to our
better selves, a call to become something more.” Rosabeth Moss Kantor
Presidents of organizations need to create a vision of the desired future for their organization and back it up with a set of values and principles of behavior.
As a teenager in the midst of transformational change from being a child to being a young adult, you can benefit from the same approach. What is your vision of who you want to be as a young man or young woman and what are the behaviors that you admire and will get you to your vision? Those behaviors are your heroic code and we will address that later in this section.
Note. When we talk about “vision” here, we are talking about a picture, not just a statement. Your picture will have lots of elements in it.
Your Vision is Your Picture of Who You Want to be
Your vision could be one, three, five or ten years in the future. That’s up to you. You can think of your vision as a point of light that can be a guide and reference point as you travel the mysteries of the journey where there is so much fog and it’s often hard to see very far ahead. You may already be living a lot of your vision – and that’s good to recognize.
The process of creating your vision is the first step. Persevering in pursuing your vision is the second step. There is a great deal of value in reflecting on who you want to be and what that would look like – creating your vision. That initial vision will also evolve as you progress and gain experience.
“The vision must be followed by the venture. It is not enough to stare up
the steps – we must step up the stairs.” Vance Havner
Your Vision Will Work for You
Yes, you need to act to realize your vision, but once established your vision will actually work for you.
- Your vision will draw you to it – to your best
- Your vision will draw people and resources to you
- Your vision will act as a compass to guide you even when life is confusing
- Your vision will decrease distractions – you can focus easier on what’s important and worry less about what isn’t