Cling To Your Vision

“Before you begin a thing remind yourself that difficulties and delays quite impossible to foresee are ahead. You can only see one thing clearly, and that is your goal. Form a mental vision of that and cling to it through thick and thin.” ~ Kathleen Norris

Now that we are into 2011, I know most of you are working on your goals and intentions for this new year. Making resolutions are not going to serve you well because resolutions come with a default for failure. When you make a resolution, that is all you do. When you set a goal or an intention, you also plan your action steps to make that goal or intention a doable process. You can make resolutions, but then turn them into actionable goals and intentions.

Also know that no matter what your goal or intention, it will be fraught with some obstacles or delays. You cannot foresee these obstacles until you reach them; but know they are coming and be okay with that. This is part of the process. If you desire this goal or intention with all your heart, then those obstacles will effortlessly turn into golden opportunities. If it is a goal or intention that does not make your heart sing, then those obstacles will get bigger and bigger and block your progress.

So think about your divine why – why do you want to be, to do or to have that desired goal or intention? Your why has to be so big and you can see it so clearly that it will get you through any obstacle you may encounter.

Chart Your Vision

The wise mystic writer wrote, “Without a vision, the people will perish.” This is profound wisdom! Unless you have a vision for your life, your business, and all areas of your life, you will perish and you will not prosper. More often than not, most of us seem to meander through our lives; taking the route pre-set for us, not the one deliberately set by us. You must live your own life which means you must have a map of what you want your life to look like.

Without a clear vision for your life, where will you end up? How do you know which road to take? Remember the scene in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?

Alice came to a fork in the road.

"Which road do I take?" she asked.

"Where do you want to go?" responded the Cheshire cat.

"I don’t know," Alice answered.

"Then,” said the cat, "it doesn’t matter."

If you don’t know where you are going, then any road will take you there.

Having a clear vision not only charts a course for your life, but it also helps to eliminate what is not necessary; it helps you to stay on the highway so you can avoid all of the annoying little side streets. And though side streets do have their charm, they must be deliberately grafted into your bigger vision – lest you veer off your chosen course.

Purposeful Musings

Okay, I just had to share this. I pulled my three Grace Cards this morning:

Vision: Pay attention.
Perception: See the past as part of our spiritual evolution.

And guess what else?

Peace: When we balance silence and activity, we discover true peace of mind.

You think someone's trying to tell me something?

And believe me, I do shuffle the deck.

In the school of living life on purpose, lessons unlearned will be repeated. You never flunk out. You just get to take the test over again. So don't worry over not getting it absolutely perfect. Just land somewhere in the ballpark and grace will find you.

Live passionately,
Coach Carolyn