Planning For the Future in Times of Chaos
Every year in the fall, my family and I (all who are on the board) conduct an annual planning and review for our companies’ following calendar year. We evaluate current strategy and goals and make necessary changes to map out an action plan that guides our steps for the next year. I take a similar approach to my personal life, self-development, and how I want to show up for myself and for others.
The key to creating a plan for the year is to be purposeful but remain flexible. Once I set my vision into a plan, I like to revisit the progress and check how things are going along the way. I have to be aware and focused on what I am trying to create and not be distracted by what is happening around me.
If I need to adjust along the way, I do so, but any changes are driven by my vision and core values. It is easy to get distracted and off-track when I either don’t have a clear written vision for myself or don’t review it frequently. External factors and old behaviors can knock me off course, leaving me with a beautiful idea that never comes to fruition. Sometimes, I get wrapped up in the current events of the moment and lose sight of my path, focusing instead on things that I cannot control led by my fear and uncertainty. My written and visual personal plan is a contract between who I said I want to be and what I said I want to do. The vision board I create is a pictorial reminder I look at every day. It keeps me present to all I want to accomplish — a reminder to always lead with Love, diminishing the significance I might place on my concerns.
Creating my personal vision plan, with the pillars of Faith, Hope, and Love, coupled with my actions, has opened doors and increased my ability to live my life in a way that works beautifully for me. I strongly believe in the value of creating a plan just for you. It’s a guide that will keep you focused on where you want to go and what you want to accomplish regardless of what’s going on around us. If it works for me, it can work for you also. I highly recommend you start mapping out how you want your year to go. Set clear goals, strategies, and tactics, then put together a vision board — then check back with me in a year and let me know how everything worked out.
