By Lee Chambers
We have all felt the pain of pinning our hopes on a specific outcome and not achieving it. Ironically, the elation of achieving that outcome, though intoxicating, is short-lived. This is fixed vision thinking; a sole focus on a single target. And it’s dangerous.
Everything has been built towards achieving that one target. After all the practical things that went into making it happen, the mental and emotional energy directed at it, you are left with a huge cognitive gap that needs to be filled. This is usually followed by plunging immediately into the quest for another giant milestone.
With this fixed vision we are more likely to fear failure and feel anxiety whenever we have to deviate from our fixed plan. It can also lead us to overlook or ignore signs of mental and emotional burnout. This dogmatic adherence to a single outcome also limits us by closing off so many possibilities. These are the dangers of being outcome-obsessed. There is a better way.
Exploring new pathways
The always-shifting twenty-first century careers maze contains twists and turns that have no historical precedence. Knowing how to navigate those twists and turns requires open-mindedness and a willingness to adapt. Focusing only on a single destination gets in the way of navigating the inevitable but unpredictable changes we face.
A fixed vision isn’t working. We need a flexible vision. With a flexible vision, you can step back and see that success can take many different forms. There are many targets you can aim for; the real benefit and value lie in improving the skill gained from the act of shooting at them, not in hitting the bullseye each time.
With a flexible vision, things that don’t go to plan are not defeats but experiments. Even an undesired outcome offers something we can learn from. Another key benefit of having a flexible vision is that it shifts your focus into appreciating the journey itself; you celebrate the small wins along the way rather than waiting for one payoff at the end that might never come. It also protects you from the distractions of minor setbacks.
How to develop a flexible vision
A fixed and inflexible vision is almost always more likely to be externally focused on specific material benefits; a job title, a big salary, or a desirable address. This mode of thinking all too often ignores the importance of internal fulfilment, passion and purpose. Developing a flexible vision is a personal process that looks at internal goals for guidance and inspiration across the entirety of your life, not just your career.
A balanced life
Work/life balance is an odd phrase; work and life aren’t two separate things. Progress at work doesn’t need to come at the expense of the rest of your life. Living a rich, full personal life doesn’t mean you can’t have a career.
Developing a flexible vision starts with accepting that your work and your life are one thing; your life. It’s big-picture thinking on a personal level. What is the meaning of your life? Finding meaning in your life is, by its nature, a forward-thinking process. It requires you to look ahead with a positive attitude.
A sense of purpose
Having a clear purpose will motivate you to take those less-travelled paths and be resilient enough to navigate the twists and turns along the way. This is what we really mean when we talk about confidence. Rather than an innate ability that you either have or don’t, confidence is trusting in your own inner direction. This same confidence empowers the bolder, risk-taking moves that feel right.
Emotional satisfaction
Your purpose is usually found where the intrinsic meets the extrinsic; where activities that make you feel fulfilled inside overlap with actions that affect the world and people around you. Knowing what gives you emotional satisfaction will help you keep true to your purpose, especially when you experience pushback from others.
A lot of the psychological dissonance we feel comes from a dogmatic belief that reappraising your goals, especially if it means pointing them somewhere other than financial reward, is a sign of weakness or failure. Success is deeply personal. It’s not about meeting the expectations of what success means to others.
Personal growth
It’s likely that some of the most important developments in your career didn’t come because of a change in job title or an increase in salary. It may have been a particularly rewarding project or an event where you discovered something new that you love to do. Experiences like that are just as important to your personal growth, if not more so, than any upgrade in workplace status.
Flexible vision and the journey ahead
Developing the ability to consciously adapt, to make choices that allow our vision for the future to be flexible requires an objective understanding of what we want to achieve. A flexible vision provides a level of clarity on the direction you want to go, rather than fixating on how you’ll get there.
To help you consider these points in a more personal way, visualise an ideal day without constraints. What are you doing, where are you and who are you with? This desirable future will become part of your long-term goal. It’s unhelpful to fixate on a single path to get there. Instead, take that vision and consider some of the small and simple actions that will begin pointing you in that direction. Make sure that these actions are achievable but also stretch you. As you work towards these actions, get in the habit of celebrating the small victories along the way. Stay alert for new opportunities that will start to appear as you develop this new outlook.
A flexible vision is one step to unlocking your potential and building momentum towards a future built with purpose.
Lee Chambers
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