The vision you have for your life goes far beyond the goals you want to accomplish. Your personal vision once clarified, is a clear picture of who you are becoming.
Looking at how the Bible starts in Genesis, we see a poetic retelling of how God intricately created all things and created us in their image. God also gives us responsibility; we have a role to play in caring for his creation.
Generally, our role is to care for all things because they were divinely created. We see the dignity in other people; they are image-bearers of God. We care for creation as stewards because it is the work of His hands.
God uniquely wires each of us for a role in carrying out his purposes. But getting specific on this is where things get cloudy.
Unfortunately, we can’t just choose to be whatever we want to be. No matter how clearly I see myself wailing on the guitar like Stevie Ray Vaughan, in front of 70,000 screaming fans, sweat dripping from my brow, it will never be a reality.
And painfully, as a salesperson, I can only serve a minuscule portion of the marketplace. I can’t be all things to all people. It is impossible to please everyone.
So it is in the context of who God created to me to be that I need to explore and clarify my purpose. We can’t divorce our meaning and purpose from Him. God is the source.
Why Clarifying our Personal Vision is So Hard
Clarifying what we want or what we want our life to be about or what’s most important to us requires a great deal of vulnerability.
In doing so, you are stating who you are at your core. Will people accept it and help me realize it, or will they laugh at me.
And once we set out in a direction and don’t get there, we are a failure. It is not just a loss, and it is a loss of a dream that is at the core of who we are.
The threat of the pain of this loss is huge. So big, we talk ourselves out of our dreams. I often think I’d be better off not even to try. And then I tell myself, you didn’t really want that anyway.
Often, even speaking about our dreams can be so terrifying. We protect ourselves, bracing from the blow of it not working out.
Sometimes we get a big vision, and we know it’s going to require all we have got to make it happen. It is beyond what we can do ourselves and will require us to be completely and utterly dependant on God.
No matter the size of the vision, when we are living out our mission, we sense the thrill of God using us for His purposes.
How Vision Impact our Lives
Our bodies are made up of two nervous systems, Sympathetic and Parasympathetic. These are two points on a spectrum, and throughout the day, we slide between the two.
Sympathetic Nervous System is our stress response as in a fight, flight, or freeze. When we feel under threat, our stress response kicks in. Our focus narrows and we become much more reactionary. Challenges start to overwhelm us and solutions are much harder to come by.
Parasympathetic Nervous System is the calm state where our physiology rebuilds. When this state is aroused we are creative and experience joy and hope. We feel optimistic and open to new ideas and possibilities.
Any activity that you feel “ugh, I have to do this,” activates the sympathetic tone — making us more irritable and short-tempered.
When were are working in the zone of our personal vision, we feel, “wow, I can’t believe I get to do this.” We bring more joy and life and energy to our work. We find more fulfillment in our work, and it builds towards making a meaningful life.
Of course, there will still be challenges and difficult situations, but we can bring more energy to find solutions and solve them.
It is a game-changer when we can bring playfulness and energy to the more difficult and draining parts of our role.
Positive Impact on Others
When we are clear on our purpose and living it out, not only do we find more meaning, we have a bigger impact.
Whether you call it purpose or passion or doing what you love, it is effortless and thrilling and time slows down.
You inspire others and help them be all that they were created to be.
Isn’t that what we for our kids, our loved ones, and the people important to us? To be all that God created them to be. We must be willing to do for ourselves, what we do for others.
Food for thought:
Our deepest desires of what we want in life, could they also be desires God wants for us, what he created us for?
—
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
Yet you have made him a little lower than God
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet.
Psalm 8:3-6
—