MINDSET FOR MUSCLE #4 | VISION
Finding A Meaningful Direction For Your Goals
It's easy to get lost in the rigmarole of life and wake up one day unsatisfied with where you are. However, individuals who take time to develop a vision, and actively align their goals and actions with that vision, tend to be more driven, proactive, and satisfied with their outcomes in life. In this episode, we deconstruct the idea of Vision and learn how to develop a meaningful direction for your life.
LINKS TO EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
- What Vision means and how it helps individuals achieve a fulfilling life
- Arnold Schwazenegger's rule #1 for success
- A 5 step process to create a vision for yourself
- The tools used by prominent psychologists Dr Steven Peters and Dr Jordan Peterson to create a meaningful direction for your life
- Critical questions to unlock your subconscious and find direction for your goals
- A daily practice which helps you stay focused and cultivate a sense of meaning and fulfilment
What Is Mindset For Muscle?
In this series we aim to uncover ideas and tips which can help develop your mindset and find motivation for your fitness journey. This includes deconstructing the character traits which can lead to greater success in life.
The Value Of Vision
WHAT IS VISION?
Vision refers to a clear and inspiring mental image of the future that you desire to achieve. In this article, it represents your long-term aspirations and dreams you want to reach in various areas of your life.
WHY IS VISION IMPORTANT?
An example may help to explain why vision is important. If we use the example of two individuals who are trying to get ahead in the workplace. One with a vision of what they want, one with no vision.
❌ An individual who lacks a vision would inevitably approach their job on a day-to-day basis without considering the bigger picture. They may focus solely on completing assigned tasks without actively seeking opportunities for growth or advancement - often remaining within their comfort zone. As a result, their career progression may be slower, less directed and they won't stand out when compared to their peers. This could lead to limited career growth and fewer opportunities for promotions or leadership roles.
✅ On the other hand, the individual with a vision has a clear and inspiring direction for their career. With this vision in mind, they set specific and measurable goals aligned with their vision, such as acquiring new skills, networking with influential professionals, and taking on leadership opportunities within their current role. They consistently track their progress, learn from setbacks, and adjust their strategies accordingly to get to their end goal. As a result, their strong vision guides their decision-making and actions. Their career progresses steadily as they are seen as a valuable asset, and they are offered promotions and opportunities for leadership roles, bringing them closer to their long-term vision.
Having a strong vision can significantly impact your life path and ensures you're working towards a desirable future. Individuals who take time to develop a vision, and actively align their goals and actions with that vision, tend to be more driven, proactive, and satisfied with their outcomes in life. Their consistent efforts and focus towards that goal often leads to increased success and advancement within their careers, relationships and life satisfaction.
Conversely, individuals without a vision may find it challenging to progress at the same rate and are more likely to get lost in their motivations. They are also more likely to be swayed by other's needs of them without a strong compass to guide their own actions.
Arnold Schwarzenegger's first rule for success: Vision
Arnold Schwarzenegger says [paraphrased] "Find your vision and follow it. It's the most important thing to have a very clear vision of where we're going. Because you can have the best ship in the world, but if the captain doesn't know where to go that ship will drift around the world and will never end up anywhere. That is what it's like in real life. If you don't have a vision you just drift around"
The 5 Step Process To Develop A Vision For Yourself
STEP 1 - SEGMENT THE AREAS OF YOUR LIFE YOU WANT TO IMPROVE
Firstly, it's helpful to define the segments of your life you're creating a vision for. This helps us differentiate key areas we can create a unique direction for, instead of feeling overwhelmed with trying to create a vision for life as a whole. The latter is much harder and can feel overwhelming to do all at once.
For example, some areas you might want to think about are:
Health, exercise, wellness, diet
Skills, abilities, character, traits, purpose
Relationships, family, friends
Wealth, experiences, accomplishments, belongings
Lifestyle, spaces, appearance
Mindfulness, contentment, gratitude, charity
The above is only an example which might be apporpriate for ambitious and goal focussed individuals. However, please figure out which segments of your life you want to create a vision for. Whatever the vision, it's easier to break things down into smaller and more manageable chunks which you can work on individually.
STEP 2 - VISUALISE YOUR 'HEAVEN AND HELL'
Visualizing your ideal life is a process that involves creating a clear and detailed mental image of the life you desire. It begins by taking time for introspection and self-reflection to identify your ideal life (your heaven) and your nightmare life (your hell). This process helps you gain clarity on what truly matters to you and what you want to prioritize.
By creating a vivid mental picture of your ideal life, you can set meaningful goals and make decisions aligned with your vision. By understanding your hell, you know what behaviours and situations you want to avoid. You'll also be aware of where you could end up without concious action towards your 'heaven'. Combining the two means you're working towards a more fulfilling and purposeful life you'll be happy with.
Below we have 3 tools which can help you create your vision and define your heaven and hell:
Tool 1: The Perfect Day Exercise
Lewis Howes is a bestselling author, founder of 'The School of Greatness' and a lifestyle entrepreneur. He has put forward an exercise which can help develop a vision for yourself called 'the perfect day'.
This exercise helps you define what a perfect day would look like for you, if everything in your life was just right. Getting clear on this means you can start to navigate what you’re doing in every aspect of your life to start creating the perfect day, every day.
You can use the worksheet here to access the perfect day exercise.
For more insights, follow Lewis Howes on Instagram here.
Tool 2: Who Do You Want To Be Exercise
Dr. Steven Peters is a renowned psychiatrist and best selling author known for his work on understanding the human mind. He specialises in helping elite level athletes manage their mental states for peak performance.
For more insights, visit Dr Steven Peters site here.
The "Who Do You Want To Be Exercise" involves imagining and defining the kind of person you aspire to become. It is a powerful technique that helps individuals clarify their values, goals, and desired behaviours. The exercise encourages individuals to create a vivid mental picture of their ideal self, considering various aspects such as character traits, attitudes, relationships, achievements, and overall lifestyle.
For more insights, visit Dr Steven Peters site here.
Below is an overview of the process. By undertaking this exercise you can create a compelling vision of who you want to become:
Tool 3: Figure Out Your Heaven & Hell
Dr. Jordan Peterson is a Canadian psychologist, professor, and public intellectual known for his work on psychology, philosophy, and more recently cultural and political issues.
The concept of visualizing your 'heaven and hell', involves the powerful practice of envisioning the best and worst possible outcomes that could result from your actions and choices.
Heaven: By creating a vivid mental image of your ideal future, you can gain clarity on what you truly desire and what goals to pursue. This vision serves as a source of motivation and direction, guiding your efforts towards a meaningful and fulfilling life.
Hell: By envisioning the potential negative consequences of making poor choices or neglecting your responsibilities, you become aware of the potential pitfalls and can take steps to avoid them.
This process helps you to align your actions with your values and make better decisions that lead to personal growth and success. By embracing this concept, you harness the power of visualization to set goals and navigate your life's journey with purpose and intention.
For more insights follow Jordan Peterson on Instagram here.
Tips for this process:
The purpose of this is to let your imagination run free and not have any inhibitions. Try not to think 'this isn't realistic' or 'I don't deserve this' which might limit what you truly desire and can work towards. This process is for you only. You don't have to share this with anyone if you don't want to.
Be aware these concepts of 'heaven' and 'hell' are very unique to you. Everyone has their own desires and aspirations which don't often match up from one person to the next. Because it feels very obvious and desirable for you, it might not be for anyone else. Don't feel like you're being generic, boring or have judgement on yourself for your choices. This is about finding what is truly desirable and motivating for your life - not anyone else.
This process can be done individually, or you can use the same process to create a 'team vision'. For example with your family or partner.
STEP 3 - GET INTROSPECTIVE
Often coming up with your 'heaven' and 'hell' off the top of your head can be a daunting task. Some critical questions can help uncover your subconscious mind and help you progress things step by step.
Below we have gathered a selection of critical questions which might be helpful at uncovering your desires. Feel free to ask your own questions or Google some more to get things going.
STEP 4 - CREATE A VISION BOARD
Now you have spent time asking critical questions, you should have a better idea for your vision. The next step is to gather these loose threads and form a cohesive reference point for your ideas.
A vision board allows you to translate these ideas into a visual representation of what you want. The process involves gathering images, words, and symbols that represent your aspirations, goals, and desires. Arrange these visuals on a board or digital document creating a visual representation of your desired life.
These visuals are just a physical representation of where you want to arrive, however, it’s important to note associating these objects and ‘things’ is to ground the exercise. The main point is to have a meaningful direction which motivates you and gives you a feeling of excitement for the future to progress towards. If that means including statements which resonate, religious parables, a link to a song or words, that’s totally fine too.
Below are a few examples of this:
Your life will go through many phases and what resonated with you at one time won’t always be what motivates you now. So this is just an exercise to get you to think through your life and gain some traction towards a better future. This shouldn’t cause stress or feel like it’s putting pressure on yourself to achieve any of this. This is just a thought process which can be stopped or started at any time. Your answers don’t need to be perfect and this process shouldn’t get to the point where it’s overwhelming. The point is to put a stake in the ground to work towards.
By regularly looking at your vision board, you reinforce your intentions and keep your goals in focus. This process allows you to clarify your aspirations, harness the power of visualisation, and inspire conscious actions towards creating the life you truly want.
STEP 5 - CREATE A MISSION STATEMENT (OPTIONAL)
Now we have your core values, passions and goals. We can distill this into a concise and meaningful statement that encapsulates your purpose and guides your decision-making towards your desirable future. Also known as a mission statement. For example:
"I want to live a life of freedom, fun and adventure"
"Today I will fulfil my duty to my family and try my hardest"
Once you have your mission statement, you can integrate it into a daily journaling or gratitude practice. Begin each day by revisiting your mission statement and aligning your actions with your purpose each day. This practice helps you stay focused, cultivate a sense of meaning and fulfillment, and make choices that align with the life you aspire to live.
CONCLUSIONS
Developing a Vision is important because it helps individuals focus their efforts toward a meaningful and fulfilling life for themselves. Those with a vision are often focussed towards a desirable outcome, whereas, those without a vision can find themselves drifting without purpose.
In order to develop a Vision for yourself, it helps to identify the key areas of your life you would like to work on. This breaks things down into manageable chunks.
Then take time for self-reflection to identify your ideal outcome (your heaven) and your nightmare outcome (your hell). By creating a vivid mental picture of your ideal life, you can set meaningful goals and make decisions aligned with your vision. By understanding your hell, you know what behaviours and situations you want to avoid. Combining the two means you're working towards a more fulfilling and purposeful life you'll be happy with.
There are several tools at your disposal to help uncover your subconscious mind and figure out your desires. For example, the 'perfect day' exercise, the 'who do you want to be' exercise and asking yourself introspective questions.
Once we have an idea of where we want to go, we can construct a reference point to follow. This reference point can be a vision board or a mission statement. We can circle back to this reference point frequently to keep on track and make sure we're living a life aligned with our true desires.
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