The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight, but has no vision.”
~ Helen Keller
Walt Disney World Resort
At the Walt Disney World opening day ceremony in 1974, Mrs. Disney was sitting beside the journalist Walter Cronkite. Walt Disney had already died a few years earlier. Mr. Cronkite wanted to say just the right thing to Mrs. Disney. He leaned over to her and said, “Wouldn’t it be great if Walt were here to see this today.” Mrs. Disney thoughtfully answered, “If Walt had not first seen this you would not be seeing it today.”
We are all visual beings. If I say, “Santa Claus”, what comes to mind? A picture of a big, jolly old man with a white beard in a bright red suit with white trim, right? Our eyes take in millions of bits of information every second. Our brain processes it forming a three dimensional, color image and puts that picture into creative motion. Every one of us has a picture of ourselves in our mind. We have a mental picture of our family, our abilities and our future.
We are not limited by our abilities or circumstances. We are only limited by our vision of what can be. A vision is not just a picture of what could be; it is an appeal to our best selves, a call to become something more.
One person sees a Florida swamp and another sees the world’s greatest entertainment resort. The difference? Vision.
Here’s the reality – we will never rise above the image we have in our mind in any area of our lives.
We will live up to our vision of ourselves — literally. How we see ourselves is what we become. Our marriage, career, bank account, health or our children will only be as great as our vision for it. You and your future are only limited only by your ability to be a visionary. The first step toward creating an improved future is developing the ability to envision it.
We can change our future by simply changing your vision for it.
With 2012 coming to end we have an opportunity to envision our future for 2013. No matter what happened in 2012 or any year in the past – our futures are untouched. The coming year is a blank canvas where we can paint the desired image of our future.
Let’s start painting:
Get some privacy with your journal and a pen.
Make sure you won’t be interrupted. Turn off your cell phone, e-mail, television, etc.
Close your eyes and pray. Ask God for inspiration and guidance. What you ultimately want is alignment between His plan and your vision. God usually speaks through our desires.
Write down your current reality – all the things that you don’t like. Be brutally honest. It’s difficult to change unless you find your current reality unacceptable. Focus on the following areas: marriage, family, finances, education, health, spiritual and community.
Now write down what you would like to see happen. Write it down in detail. If you can, use all five senses. Write it in the present tense, as though it has already happened. This will make it more believable to you.
Share your vision with the people who have a vested interest in the outcome.
Commit to reading your vision daily. This is critically important. The more you can “see” this, the more likely it will come to pass.
Don’t get hung up on how you will accomplish your vision. Just believe, trust God and watch it come to pass.
When times are tough, vision is the first victim. Before things can improve, it is the first thing we must recover.
