Why is finding your own vision essential?
by Mikko Taskinen
People who are excited about, and devoted to, their work, have found the job that suits them perfectly. For others, life and work seems so tiresome that they want to find a job in which they can rest in peace. Without striving for something better, without sometimes so stressful learning process.
When you challenge these people to think about their vision, they are puzzled.
But that’s only their first reaction. As the process unfolds, the first steps can lead almost anywhere. That’s why it’s called a process.
In this process, there are four steps:
- Waking up. This involves thinking about things never considered previously and asking questions never before asked: What am I doing here? What makes my life meaningful? Does my work make any real sense?
- Seeking connection. These questions help you see the connection between what you are and what you do: Am I in the right place? Does my work really mean something to me or is it just some place where I spend time in order to get paid?
- Answers. These questions lead to reflection on significant issues. Dwelling on these questions between the workshops will produce some preliminary answers. Maybe at first they are negative answers, such as “I don’t find myself here” or “I’ve got no idea what I want,” but that’s a good start—and a step forward from where you were before the process started.
- Finding the way. You have two possibilities: making the most of your present job by being willing to learn and to better serve the people you’re working for, or looking for something better, a place where you can give more of yourself and feel in tune with yourself. Both ways lead to betterment.
Why is the process so important? First of all, in one’s inner life, change occurs slowly; it needs time and space to take place. A great benefit from this process is—even if it is never completed— it still gives a different, more meaningful feeling of life through waking up, perhaps for the first time ever.
We all need tools to do our job better and more effectively, e.g. more sensible. We also need to create circumstances that allow us to reflect on how we are in the most purposeful way connected to ourselves and to the world.
Vision is not an exception; it’s a key.
If I have vision,I have a great asset with which to accomplish my daily work and my mission. And this “picture of my better future” warms me up for thinking more positively, for seeing more possibilities and finding the will to make them real.
We all need a vision, sometimes even a better vision. As we wrote in our book Your Next Vision:
We believe that everybody needs a conscious vision. A vision gives a meaning for what we are doing, it provides us energy and it sets out a challenging but attainable goal. A vision adds a new dimension to our work, which is more than just getting things done. A better vision is a living idea and aspiration, something we can be passionate and curious about. It guides us and is present in everything we do.
It’s for our own good and for the good of the situation in which we are accomplishing something important for our clients.