Let’s face it – creating a vision and developing a strategy does not assure that anything is going to change. Change is going to come about by taking very specific ACTIONS on a routine basis. Taking action moves you forward. In other words, you have to do something different in order to make your vision come true.
Now, this is all beginning to sound like work isn’t it?! But, as Henry Ford’s hackneyed adage goes:
“If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always got.”
So, the questions you might ask yourself are these:
- “Is that good enough?”
- “Is that what I really want?”
- “Will I be happy in the long run if nothing changes?”
Here are some of the things I have discovered happen when people don’t include the action plan to support their vision and their strategies.
- They look outside themselves for the reason they are falling short of their vision. In other words, they start blaming others or keep searching for the elusive solution for happiness.
- And when that happens, they think that by changing the environment (their job, their spouse, their neighbourhood, their place of worship, etc.) that they will be happier.
I think we all know of people – and perhaps sometimes it has been us – that keep waiting for our circumstances to change so that we can live the life we want. And then when circumstances change we are still where we were.
Without taking the personal action steps necessary to live your vision, chances are you will come up short no matter what other changes you make in your life.
There are many exercises and tools designed to help you create your action plan. Here is one you may wish to try out:
Exercise: “Take specific actions on a routine basis”
This is a great exercise to determine where you are in comparison to where you want to go. Your life is generally divided into 8 dimensions. They are: Physical; Relationships; Family; Spiritual; Mental; Lifestyle; Business / Work; Financial.
- As you read the list, think about just one area where you would like some improvement.
- After you have chosen an area, think about what your life would look like if you were completely happy with that dimension of your life.
- Now, think about a continuum from 0 ——– 100, as shown in the boxes below; with 0 being on one end and 100 being on the opposite.
- Where are you currently on the continuum for the dimension you choose? Are you at the 50% mark – or higher – or lower? Only you will know where you are now as compared to where you want to be.
| Physical | Relationships | Family | Spiritual |
| 0————–100 | 0————–100 | 0————–100 | 0————–100 |
| Mental | Lifestyle | Business / Work | Financial |
| 0————–100 | 0————–100 | 0————–100 | 0————–100 |
- Now think for a minute about that blank space – the gap between where you are now and where you want to be.
- If you were to make a LIST of all the things you need to do to fill in the gap – to get to the 100% mark – the list would become the ACTION you need to take to help you move towards your vision.
- Don’t get caught up in whether or not you CAN – or even WANT to fill in the gap. This exercise is to demonstrate to you one method for determining what you would need to do to reach your vision.
- Another way you could do it is to create a simple checklist.
- More exercises are given in the Toolkit …..(“Vision – Goals – Action: A Practical Guide to Achieving Your Goals” – coming soon!)
Also, having a trusted accountability buddy will help you commit to your action plan and achieve your goals. When two people are working simultaneously on their own projects, they tend to support each other more. You can share your vision; discuss your strategies to accomplish this vision with them; check in with, and encourage each other at regular intervals as you take the steps to implement your actions; and celebrate your success when you reach your goals and accomplish your vision.
Of course, a coach serves in somewhat the same capacity with some additional benefits!
Now is the time to start projecting your tomorrow and heading towards it today!
Feel free to contact me here to discuss how I can help and support you each step of the way in creating a vision for a more fulfilling life, developing a strategy and taking specific ACTIONS on a routine basis to achieve it.
