Columbia Consultancy - Work/Life Balance

Your Vision for the New Millennium

Volume #5 - December 1999

As the end of the century draws to a close, it presents us with the opportunity not just to set goals for the new year, but to create a new vision of ourselves for the future. What do you want to achieve in the new millennium? How big a vision can you create?

Our ability to create a grand vision for ourselves can be affected by the messages we were given when we were children by our parents, by the socioeconomic group in which we were raised, and by society at large. Class, nationality, race and gender all play a role in shaping us, in influencing our thinking about who we can become. However, if we raise our awareness about how the early messages we received affected us, we can change any limitations they might have placed on us and open ourselves up to see ourselves in new, exciting, and more powerful ways.

I have found that women sometimes need to be prompted to think big – to create larger visions for themselves, particularly in terms of their careers. Interestingly, several women in my book, Success on Our Own Terms: Tales of Extraordinary, Ordinary Business Women, told me that it was men who helped them to see their abilities in a new light and to envision possibilities they hadn' t thought of themselves.

For instance, early in her career, when Meredith Fischer, now a vice president of marketing at Pitney Bowes, was asked by the president of her business unit at Exxon what her career goals were, she said she wanted to become the director of media relations. Recognizing her talent, he told her that she should set her sights higher. He thought she could become the vice president of marketing for a major company. She was stunned, because she had never thought of herself in that way before. That conversation changed her perspective, her goals, and her career.

So, when you think of what you would like to be in the next century, let your mind run free. What could be possible that you have never before thought of as possible? What would make you feel wildly happy and enormously fulfilled?

Envision your dream in all its dimensions and then actually begin to visualize it daily. You'll be surprised at what can happen – I've personally experienced the power of visualization. I was working in the non-profit sector when I decided that I had to do something about making my dream of writing a book on women become real. A colleague had given me Shakti Gawain's Creative Visualization, which outlines the following key steps for effective visualization:

Set your goal and create a picture of it in your mind. Think of your vision as though it's already real. For instance, I visualized holding my book in my hand, smiling and talking to groups of women, and feeling that my words made a difference in their lives.

Focus on your vision often and give it positive energy. Along with my vision, I created an affirmation that I faithfully repeated every day before I went into my office.

About a year after I began visioning my future, I had an opportunity which started me on the path that led to my present career. It wasn't necessarily an easy path – there were some difficult bumps and disappointments along the way. But two years later, I had written my first book and had a contract for Success on Our Own Terms. Thus, I know from first-hand experience that regardless of the early messages you might have received, you can achieve goals that you once thought impossible. So, in the year 2000, create a big vision for yourself – you CAN turn it into reality.

COACHING QUESTIONS ON CREATING VISION

Who is it you want to be in the next century? What work do you want to be doing? What title do you want to hold? What kind of environment do you want to work in? How much money do you want to earn? What kind of balance do you want in your life? What kind of activities do you want to be involved in?
What do you need to do to become that person? What keeps you from creating big visions?
What kind of messages were you given growing up? Do those messages limit your vision of yourself? What can you do to change the tape in your head created by those messages? What affirmations do you need to incorporate into your daily life?