I’m a couple of days late but happy new year.
It has been overplayed, this “2020 Vision” thing but that won’t stop me! Ever since I understood what the term 2020 vision meant I’ve been waiting to use that pun.
Such witty wordplay.
This time last year I was biting my fingernails, dreaming my results at one point
https://twitter.com/Zothileee/status/1078273051438006272?s=20
thinking about the creative answers I’d written, the blanks I’d left on my answer script and trying to gauge whether I’d gotten the passes I wanted.
After what felt like forever the results were released. I was in the clear. I was able to move to the next stage. Well I hadn’t thought that far ahead, I didn’t have a solid plan for that next stage. A level. I had tunnel vision, it hadn’t really clicked that life doesn’t end at IGCSE. My vision didn’t extend that far.
It was only a night before registration did I try to conjure up my A level combination and I started the year with 4 subjects instead of the HIGHLY RECOMMENDED 3 subjects.
Unlike my other years at school I had no drive or motivation because I didn’t envision what I wanted to achieve at the end of the academic year. I was walking around like this
https://giphy.com/gifs/netflix-horror-thriller-bird-box-1BFGFPPuIRTUPZFy4d
I get that A level is no walk in the park (it’s Advanced level after all) When you’re still learning the ropes you can expect low marks, and there’s a learning curve. But I could have done much better in the first half if I’d set targets and come up with a better strategy.
Having a vision, a goal, an objective can really help you to get the highest level of output possible out of your work. Not having a vision can leave you exhausted: you can be busy but ineffective. With no destination in mind or map in hand you can walk around in circles for hours without having achieved anything.
Having no vision puts you on autopilot, you cease to be intentional and mindful. (Remember my previous post about how growth is intentional) So progress and self-actualization become rather unlikely when you’re static.
Success doesn’t happen by accident, you have to see where you want to be and work towards moving in that direction. So I urge you to have a vision.
Every piece of sophisticated machinery, every staggering building has blue prints The Burj Khalifa didn’t come about as a result of people milling about aimlessly.
So don’t expect the best version of yourself to emerge out of thin air without having a plan on how to get there.
This year, I strive to have a vision.
Another really helpful thing is making a vision board. I’ll delve into that later.