Inspire yourself to help inspire others

The winter Olympics are here again. We all watch some of the coverage and are inspired by people of all ages who demonstrate their discipline and commitment to personal excellence. The individuals competing in the Olympics have a personal vision, one they may have held since childhood.

During an interview after he was selected for the Olympics, a snowboarder remembered a skiing injury he suffered as a child. As they were going down the mountain, the ski patrol asked him about his aspirations. He responded, “I want to be in the Olympics.” His vision was strong enough to carry him through life to his goal.

As we start a new decade, we might ask ourselves: What is our personal commitment to a vision? Each individual is an integral part of the business or organization. Our personal commitment, energy and discipline all play a part in our success as well as the success of others. A major source of energy and empowerment is our vision.

Review your vision

What is your personal vision? Are you passionate about your work? Do you have a clear vision of why you do what you do? Are you excited to wake up each day, jump out of bed and arrive at work excited and energized? Are you aspiring to personal excellence and are you a source of inspiration for others?

We can always benefit from the learning and discovery that results from a review of our vision. Part of re-visioning is assessing where you are today. How have recent changes impacted your vision? What has been your response to change?

These times create incredible opportunity in every environment. While resources, jobs, and dollars may be limited, our creativity and ingenuity are unlimited. In order to take advantage of the opportunity, we need to assess how things are working today. What works well? What does not? What is missing or unknown? What needs improvement? This exercise creates a tension between where we are today and where we want to be in the future.

To make positive progress each of us must tell the truth, as we see it, about the current state of affairs. This is the first step in re-visioning your future. Having loyalty to the truth is a value that serves all kinds of purposes in our work and personal life. If you make a commitment to the benefits of revisiting your vision, you need to start by telling the truth to yourself.

As you think about your vision, consider some of the following topics: self-image, health, relationships, professional aspirations, approach to learning, and purpose. Pick one or two of these or other topics, and focus on your current state and your desired future. This assessment can produce fresh learning that could both inspire you and show the path to a new way of achieving your vision.

Never too late to find vision

Maybe you have never really thought about a personal vision. It is never too late to find your vision and calibrate your actions to achieve it. When the vision is clear to each of us, the day-to-day work has meaning. When each of us performs work that is meaningful, we are contributing to making the world a better place.

Carve out some time each day to reflect on what is happening, what is meaningful to you, and how you might create change to progress toward a more desirable future. The work we do today holds the seeds of our vision. We were attracted either consciously or unconsciously to some aspect of the work we do now. Can we improve and make a bigger contribution? Absolutely!

There are no limits to our ability to affect change in our lives and the lives of others. We have to create awareness inside ourselves first. Have the conversation with yourself in order to hold the tension between your personal vision and a clear picture of the current reality. Tension, by nature, seeks resolution, and the most natural resolution of this tension is for our current reality to move closer to what we want.

In “Alice in Wonderland,” the Cheshire cat asked Alice, as she approached a fork in the road, “Where are you going?”

“I don’t know,´ said Alice.

“Then any road will take you there,” the cat replied.

Take the time to refine your personal vision and inspire yourself. The value of the exercise is not what the vision is; it is what the vision does. Make your vision work for you.

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