Envisioning helps you focus on what's important
A client of mine, who usually works long hours with individuals across the globe, recently said to me, “It’s all falling into place!” She was beaming with delight.
I was thrilled for her because only a month before, she was struggling to integrate the demands of work with her personal life. While it seemed almost unbelievable that issues she had been entangled in for a long time dissolved so quickly, it didn’t just magically “fall into place”.
One of the very first things I did was facilitate her through an envisioning process. This led her to think about the type of future she really wanted. From there, we were able to clearly articulate the strategies she needed to implement, behaviours she needed to change and opportunities she needed to create to match reality with her ideal future.
Envisioning the future you want is powerful as it helps you to see the woods through the trees. In envisioning, you focus on the big picture and this helps you make decisions that radiate across and support different aspects of your life.
I recently completed an envisioning exercise myself as part of a branding action group led by Samantha Hartley of Enlightened Marketing. Similar to my client, the process created clarity (and excitement!) for where I want to take Clever Fox and how this direction integrates with my personal aspirations.
When envisioning, it’s important that you think about a future that YOU find meaningful and one that you can take steps towards. It should not be a future that is canned, unconnected to your own goals, what someone else thinks it ought to be, or based on luck e.g. winning the lottery or being gifted your own private beachfront apartment in the Bahamas.
Interested in creating a compelling future yourself? Here are the steps:
Pick a specific day in the future between 1 and ten years from now and describe, in the present tense, what you’re doing that day. Here are some questions to activate your thinking…
- How do you start your day?
- What types of activities do you do at work?
- Describe the people do you work with (colleagues, business partners, clients).
- How do you go to work?
- Where do you work?
- What kind of work culture is it?
- How do you feel on a regular basis?
- What do you pursue for fun and laughter?
- What’s the general feeling at home?
- What activities do you do with your family?
- What type of friends do you surround yourself with?
- What projects (personal or business) are you planning or implementing?
- How do you feel at the end of the day?
- What type of person have you become?
Your first go may not be perfect. Most of my clients tweak it several times until it becomes compelling for them. Use words that inspire you, describe your feelings, the sounds you hear, what you see, and if appropriate, smells and tastes too!
I LOVE facilitating my clients through the envisioning step. They have come up with amazing business ideas as a result, ones they simply wouldn’t have thought about seriously had we not done the envisioning step.
Envisioning is only the beginning. Nothing happens without a plan or you taking action.
Have you or someone you know tried the envisioning process? I’d love to hear about your experience.
