Not sure if you’ve ever been to a seminar or read a book that emphasizes the importance of having goals and writing them down. I’ve heard it said repeatedly that one must have a clear vision of where they’d like to go because “if you don’t know where you want to go, how on earth are you going to get there…or know you have arrived if you aren’t sure where it is?” Of course that makes perfect sense to me, logically. I get the gist of “start with the end in mind.” The problem is, however, that sometimes that can lead to rigidity and even a close-minded perspective.
Let me share my personal experience with this, which is what prompted me to blog today. I happen to have a very clear vision as to what I am determined to create in my life. I know exactly what I want to happen and the type of life I aspire to achieve, both personally and professionally. The problem is that I often find myself so focused on then and what I believe must happen in order to facilitate these achievements that I can sometimes miss what is here and now.
Has something ever happened to you or an opportunity been presented that you had never expected or could have ever even imagined? Sometimes these little surprises can lead us down an entirely different path, one that far exceeds what we had “planned” for ourselves. On the other hand, these apparent “opportunities” can also be “bright shiny bubbles.” How does one distinguish between the two?
Getting back to my initial question, how to best balance the need for clearly defined goals, direction, persistence and discipline with the flexibility of being open-minded enough to notice when to turn or shift gears or to take advantage of another opportunity?