IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITES: Create a Compelling Vision for 2007

Nothing spells ‘fresh start’ like a New Year – 365 glorious days of possibility!  Like a blank canvas, a New Year beckons all of us to imagine, plan, and create our best life and become our best selves. Whether it’s finding a more fulfilling career, launching a business, creating a healthier body, a healthier bottom line, or handling any number of life's challenges the New Year is always something to be excited about. It's a time to start fresh and put the previous year behind us. Now's the perfect time to start making 2007 your best year ever!

Take a minute and forward though the year. Visualize next December, ask yourself: what do you want your life to look like? Where do you want to be living? What do you want to be doing? How do you want your business to look?  Start to form a vision of what you want to create for yourself and the world around you.  A vision is a clear understanding of your destination and is crucial to starting you in the right direction. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "I have a dream," and what followed was a vision that changed a nation. That famous speech is a dramatic example of the power that can be generated when a person creates a compelling vision of the future.

 Too many people dismiss their visionary thoughts as pipe dreams or fantasies. But isn't that the spark of life? To feel motivated, awakened, hopeful and enthusiastic about something? To want to grow, to develop, to manifest and create? Visions give us joy and hope. Without your vision all you are left with is reality - where you are now.  Not that that is bad, but there is a different kind of energy that comes when creating from possibilities. The way most of us deal with reality can be referred to as conflict management. We take action to get rid of a problem or move away from something, moving toward what you want involves an entirely different kind of energy, one that will lift you up and pull you toward success.

 WRITE IT DOWN

 Getting a clear image of what you want, may take some time - a few days or even weeks or months.  Start by getting it out of your head and on to paper.  This is crucial. If your vision of what you are trying to create stays in your head along with the agenda for the board meet, your shopping list, your schedule for next week or next month it doesn't have much chance for survival.  Don't fool yourself by saying that you know what it is without putting it on paper. There is so much information and stuff up there I guarantee it will get lost.  Just the simple act of committing your ideas to paper will set them in motion. 

Sit down with paper and pen in a restful inspirational place and allow your mind to sink into a calm and relaxed state, conducive to creative ideas and eurekas. Write down all the things that come to mind when you think about what you want to create this year. Don't be shy - if it comes up, write it down.  Define the details and picture all the resources that can help you.  Keep writing and allow your dreams to evolve.  As you start to gain clarity, what you commit to paper will begin to feel right.  But for now let the stream of consciousness take you on a magic carpet ride. Dismiss any distracting thoughts that might come up, such as "I can't have THAT!" or "That's impossible!" 

 When you've finished writing out your vision let it sit and just be with the possibilities. After a few days, look it over and soak in the essence of what you have written. What sorts of feelings come up as you read your meanderings? What thoughts? What physical surges? Imagine achieving the results in your life that you deeply desire. Again, ignore how possible or impossible this vision seems. Imagine yourself living with the full manifestation of these possibilities. Describe the experience you have imagined, write it out using the present tense, as if it is happening now. Unless you start to take these actions it is simply dream, taking action sets the wheels in motion toward becomes reality. 

MAP IT OUT

 Another simple, and powerful, way of making your vision come true is to create a visual representation to help see your goals vividly and stimulate your brain. A Treasure Map is a visual picture of the dreams you have for your life. Although it may sound like a fun "artsy" sort of project, it's much, much more than that. Taking the time to design this map will challenge you to think hard about what you really want at this time in your life. It will give your "wise self" an opportunity to speak to you through images, without your head getting in the way.

 Start flipping through the magazines looking for any pictures, words, or phrases that illustrate your dreams and goals.  Cut out anything that gets your attention - even if you are not sure why.  You might be surprised by to find some new and exciting desires and needs.   Often times these "unconscious desires" may be what you really, really, really want deep down inside. So, give listen to your wise self and cut them out and put them aside.  

After you have cut out the pictures and phrases, glue or paste them on a canvas - a poster board, a notebook or even a wall in your house.  Have fun doing it! Enjoy yourself! Let you imagination be your guide. Make it a work of art. When completed, you want to have a feeling of "Yes! I love this!"  

Put your completed map in a place where you can see it often - your office, your bedroom, or even your kitchen where you will view it daily.  As time passes, feel free to modify your map, or paste over the things that don't seem to fit anymore.  Make it come alive and grow and change as you do! By glancing at your success board each day, you'll find that your mind naturally begins to orient your thinking around your desires. Embedded firmly in your mind, soon your desires will take root and come to life! 

I've learned in my own life and in working as a coach that if you don't identify your vision, others will plan and direct your life for you. Recently, I was talking with a woman who had left her job to go out on her own and start a new venture.  She had some ideas of what she wanted but nothing specific. Because she had not created her vision beyond leaving the corporate world, what she got was a whole lot of busy-ness and not a lot of focus.  All of a sudden it seemed that everyone she knew was making requests of her newfound freedom.  Instead of moving toward her desires, her time was spent babysitting nieces and nephews, running errands, and working for everyone but herself. Decide where you want to go otherwise I promise you, you will not get there.  It is so easy to get caught up in the activity trap, in the busyness of life that we forget we are the ones in the driver's seat. Creating your vision will give you focus and keep you going when the going gets tough 

When I finish my vision, I feel excited and confident about my plans for the year. And, I know from experience that this excitement and confidence fuels the power behind my desires! This year, I invite you to create fabulous events, to tap into the energy of a New Year, to inspire action and plant the seeds of possibility. 

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