Getting Things Done - GTD
Gaining Perspective at a Higher Level: Vision
AUTHOR: Francisco Sáez
"Clarity of vision is the key to achieving your objectives." ~ Tom Steyer.
Gaining Perspective:
1. Gaining Perspective
2. Gaining Perspective Through Actions
3. Gaining Perspective at Project Level
4. Gaining Perspective from the Areas of Focus
5. Gaining Perspective Through Goals
6. Gaining Perspective at a Higher Level: Vision
7. Gaining Perspective at the Highest Altitude: Purpose and Principles
From the bottom up, vision is the next-to-last level on the ladder of perspective. Beyond the level of goals, we find ourselves on a higher horizon where the fundamental question is: How do you envision long-term success?
This question should be understood as a complete vision of a future situation of personal success. What would it be like? What would it look like? How would you feel?
We can refer to vision as those goals that have a longer than two-year scope, but to define it more accurately you should ask yourself a question like this:
If you were very successful in the next few years, what do you imagine yourself to be like and what would you be doing?
Vision helps us focus on issues that will have an impact over a multi-year time frame. For an individual (levels of perspective can apply to individuals as well as organizations and companies), this could include both a desired way of life and a set of career goals.
The time frame of the vision is relative and particular to each individual. It may be relatively shorter for young people or people living in very dynamic environments, where cycles of change are more frequent. For you, it will depend on the amount of time in the future you are capable of visualizing in your imagination.
How to find and define vision
In the business world, out-of-office meetings and informal mechanisms are more conducive to the exchange of ideas and relaxed dialogues that can lead to a concrete vision statement. Consultants or coaches are often included to push participants to take their ideas into more creative territory.
You can ask yourself more direct questions, such as the ones I mentioned above, or questions like, “How do I see myself in five years? There are times when that’s enough to start thinking creatively and clarify what goals one should set out to achieve.
Even if the questions are simple, answering them is often not. We often reject this type of inner dialogue because of the threat it represents: it confronts our idea of success with our current situation.
In any case, this type of session is always beneficial because it pushes us to go beyond our comfort zone. They allow us to imagine greater achievements that we might not otherwise think about.
Long-term visions and goals have the quality of producing changes in the present. Imagining the future somehow affects the way we approach the present. Imagining success scenarios as if they had actually been achieved causes the brain to start setting directions and making decisions that pave the way.
Writing a detailed script about what your ideal future would be like can be a positive and effective way to define your vision. The text should include all aspects of life that you consider important, such as the quality of your relationships, where you’ll live, your health, your finances, your professional life, and so on. If you are a visual person, accompanying the text with drawings or images can be very motivating.
When to think about your vision
As in the rest of the horizons of focus, the level of vision should be revisited with a certain regularity to verify that the defined vision is still current and active, and that, at a lower level, we continue to establish goals, projects and actions that will help us reach that desired state.
Given the long-term nature of the vision, it will probably not be necessary to carry out reviews less frequently than annually. If the vision is defined for the very long term, a review every two or three years may even be valid.
Also, as in the rest of the horizons of focus, problems, challenges or opportunities may arise that require a revision of what we thought was the desired future. Both in business and in personal lives, situations may arise that require an update of the desired future vision: a divorce, an unexpected illness, a career opportunity in another part of the world, etc.
Unfortunately, there are also constant changes at a global level, economic, climatic, military, political, etc. that can cause changes in the life plans of millions of people. Any of these changes may cause you to redefine how you see your future.
Defining a future vision can generate a great productive impulse if over time you accompany that vision with short-term goals from which you can define projects that are composed of real actions.
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