How to Move Toward Your Vision in 3 Steps

We can all confuse motion with intentional movement in the desired direction. 

I’m remembering high school physics when I had to give a presentation on “displacement”. (Belated thanks to Phil, my lab partner, and Sister Jane, my teacher. Physics was not my forte.) My understanding today is less than basic, but I’ll tell you what stuck with me. In physics, displacement not only cares about the distance an object travels, but what direction an object is going when it moves. 

So in honor of Sister Jane, I want to know—Are you moving in the direction of your vision?

For many of us these days, your big vision for positive change feels farther away each day. There is so much disruption in the world now that it is easy to feel drained: one step forward and three back.

But what if you could re-conceptualize your energy not as drained, just displaced?

With one intentional practice, you can start to redirect your energy. I’ll walk you through the 3 steps.

1. First, write down your vision. What is the aspect of a better world that you are inspired to create? Capture it in some way with great texture and specificity. 

Describe it like a news report or cherish it in an ode or paint it or compose it or make a digital vision board – whatever comes through you, the visionary. Imagine you are a channel as electric as Amanda Gorman, National Youth Poet Laureate. Let it flow! 

Remember that visions are about presence, not absence. Your vision is what you stand for, not what you are fighting against. The daily struggles and stresses and conflicts are real experiences. But they are not the future you are investing in. What is the transformed future state you dream of? What is it you want to be part of creating for… kids, families, animals, neighborhoods, systems, nations, the planet? What do you want more of that will make things better, so much better? 

You can start simple by completing this sentence: 

I want to read a headline in 20 years that says: “_______________________________________________________________________________.”

2. Next, start to talk to it. You read that right. Talk to your vision like the friend it really is. It is, after all, the magnetic one pulling you forward day by day. 

Hey, have you ever found yourself thinking about TV characters like they are real? Admit it. We’ve all done it. Maybe you’re daydreaming that a famous talk show host is interviewing you, or you’re night dreaming about hanging out with your favorite sitcom characters. The “Friends” might feel like your real friends! That’s because we are so fully immersed in their world that energetically it is real. 

You can experience that same sense when you connect to your vision more regularly: It starts to feel like a real thing, a real relationship. Energetically it is real. You and others who share your big vision have created this intention for how the world can be different and better. 

As you make your vision a friend, you will sense a greater hopefulness. You will feel a subtle shift that more might be possible… then, that it is possible… and eventually that it is undeniably possible. You need that certainty to carry you onward. 

3. Ask your vision: What direction should I take now? Vision, what do you most want me to do now? And just listen. 

I’ve shared about what I call Love & Listen – one of three categories of ways to invest in yourself for a payoff in more energy to amplify your work. Well, it is possible to not only love and listen to yourself and others, but to love and listen to your vision—however “out there” that might sound! Just try next time you have a mindful or prayerful moment. Let yourself learn from your vision itself how to move explicitly in its direction.

Rise To Your Vision is here to help you to tap into both the spiritual and strategic. By spiritual I mean feeling wholly integrated and able to tap into non-traditional ways to amplify your leadership and vision. And strategic—as in your insight gets translated into practical priorities to invest your precious energy as a changemaker. 

If you are not quite grasping this yet, don’t worry. I’d be thrilled to continue to be your guide. Your “VisionAirey”, if you will. ☺   For example, I support change leaders 1:1. We also have a five-week course that is an online cohort experience to support you to move toward your vision.

To learn more about our course—A Transformative Circle for Social Change Leaders—and place your name on the priority list, take a closer look here.