Do you have a burning passion to see your vision become a reality? Passion is the desire and endurance that says, “I am going to go after my vision, no matter the cost. If I have to stay up late and get up early, I have got to make it happen. If I have to go it alone, I will go by myself.
Vision under attack
I remember several years ago when I realized and wrote my vision for the areas of my life, I was immediately attacked by an overwhelming sense of fear and doubt. I was constantly bombarded with negative and contrary thoughts that refused to shut up. They were relentless.
To be honest, I allowed them to dictate my vision progress. I allowed the contrary and negative thoughts hold me hostage for years. The thoughts would tell me, “Who is going to read your stuff, don’t you know you can’t write, you don’t know enough or have enough experience. I heard these and many more destructive thoughts daily. I was under an extreme attack.
It was not until I had a change in thinking that propelled me to overcome the attacks on my mind. I made a conscious decision to think differently. I changed what and who I listened to and read, who I let speak into my life and where I spent my time. When I made the decision to change my thoughts, the direction of my life began to change.
I have not arrived; I am still a work in progress. I am overcoming daily. I realized this is not a one-time destination, but a journey that must be lived out daily. When the thoughts of defeat, discontent, and discouragement bombard my thoughts, I immediately refute them with thoughts that are positive, honest, true and honorable.
If you are hungry to see your vision fulfilled in every area of life then you will develop an unstoppable attitude. You will focus on your vision and move forward at all cost. Here are six things to not do if you want to move your vision forward.
Six things
1 – Don’t let busyness keep you from being productive.
When I was college a friend asked me a serious question about what I thought was the reason he could not get things done. I told him, ‘he spent a whole lot of time doing nothing’. He was like a hamster running on a wheel. He was exhausting a lot of energy but not accomplishing much. He was busy, but unproductive.
It is easy to get caught up in the busyness of life. You run around a hundred miles an hour doing a lot of things but not the right things. Being busy does not mean that you are productive. If you don’t believe me, just take a quick look around. Busy people are rushing all over the place, they are heading to work, conferences, meetings, social engagements, kids extracurricular activities and the list goes on and on. Many people barely have enough free time for family outings, relaxation or a good night sleep.
Don’t let busyness give you an elevated sense of purpose. Don’t let the trap of thinking you have to be busy, keep you from focusing on the important things. Though being busy can make you feel productive for a moment, the reality is that it is not sustainable long term. If you want to get on your path to productivity, here is my advice; slow down, refocus, eliminate distractions and move in the direction towards your purpose.
2 – Don’t waste time and energy stuck in the past; it is gone and you can’t get a redo. So move on.
Many people give up pursuing their vision because of a past defeat. They allow the past defeat to keep them in a holding pattern. You have endured intense struggles and overcome insurmountable obstacles, so you can’t afford to allow your failures and regrets to bind you to the past.
Yesterday is gone and will never come back. It is a part of your life that you will never get back. Use your yesterday to improve today and live a better tomorrow. You can’t live a better today if you are stuck on what happened yesterday. What you should or could have done yesterday is a fleeting memory. You can’t turn back the hands of time.
It is time for you to put your past behind you. Let your past go and live in the present moment. Envision a brighter future ahead of you. You can’t give in or succumb to your past failures and regrets because your best life is waiting for you to live it.
3 – Don’t settle for blending in when you suppose to stand out.
One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you like everyone else. Someone will always be prettier, smarter, younger, faster, stronger but they will never be you. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you. You may resemble your father or mother, but you are not them. You may have similar skills as someone else, but you are not them. You are unique. You are an original.
Don’t be afraid to stand out. Because you stand out does not make you better than anyone else. It makes you the person God created you to be. The reason people struggle with who they are because they spend too much time trying to be like someone else. Blending in robs you of the joy of living out your uniqueness.
Don’t waste valuable time trying to walk in some else’s shoes when you have your own shoes to walk in. It is okay to be different. It is okay to stand out. Don’t get caught up in the social media, marketing, and television hype that you have to be like someone else or you are lacking. Don’t hide who you are because if you do then the world will miss out on the real you.
4 – Don’t quit when things get hard, keep pushing forward because your victory is within reach!
Most people quit too soon. They give up when things get difficult. Stop running from your problems, face them head-on. No, it won’t be easy. Everything will not go your way. You will make mistakes.
Each of us possesses the same twenty-four hours a day, one-hundred and sixty-eight hours a week, and eight thousand seven hundred sixty hours a year. The question I present to you is “What are you doing with your time?
If you hit unforeseen turbulence, don’t quit. If you don’t succeed at first, don’t throw in the towel. Change your course and go in a different direction. Getting where you desire to take effort. You must roll up your sleeves, strap on your work boots, put on your hard hat and go to work.
5 – Don’t be too quick to make a decision with limited information.
Several years ago I made a bad business decision because of limited information. I listened to people who were only out for themselves. Instead of gathering the right information, I based my decision on what others were telling me. I made a quick decision on limited information that costs me years of agony.
I did not blame anyone but myself. If you need to make a major decision, please spend the quality time gathering the right information from reliable resources to make a sound decision. Don’t rush because others say it needs to happen now. If others are rushing you to make a quick decision then you need to step back and review the situation.
Take your time so you can make a well informed decision. Do your research, but don’t spend forever gathering information because this will lead to indecision. Find about three to five reliable resources you can trust, do your homework and make a decision.
6 – Don’t wait for someone to give you permission to pursue your vision.
If you are waiting for someone to give you permission to live out your vision, you will be waiting for a long time. Give yourself permission to pursue your vision.
Don’t disqualify or downplay your vision. You are not promised to live the next minute or the rest of today — let alone tomorrow — so you might as well pick yourself. You have the potential to be a trailblazer, a trendsetter, and a real difference-maker. The only thing that is stopping you is you.
Creating a meaningful life and pursuing your vision takes time and effort. But you are worth the effort. Today and not tomorrow is the day to give yourself permission to move toward your unique vision. You miss 100% of the shots you never take. You miss living a great life waiting for the right people to choose you. You forfeit personal and family growth if you choose to wait for someone’s permission.
Experience all life has to offer. Try out that new restaurant. Travel to a different place. Change the color schemes in your home. Link up with new people. New experiences help you grow and they make life interesting. Make an effort to try new things and break free of waiting for someone to pick you. You only have one life and you might as well choose to live your best.
“There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” Nelson Mandela
Originally published at goodmenproject.com