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| Fog on the watershed |
I recently took part in the first session of a nine-month leadership course. Part of the pre-session homework was to create a poster to tell who I was. I put a bunch of things on my board including pictures of my sisters and cousin Roni, mastheads for the journals I write for, pictures of my bike and the watershed and words and stickers to convey the values and things that are important to me.
I’m not an artist by any means but I really had fun doing it. Presenting it was another story since I’m a diehard introvert.
But the creative process and the board has lingered in my consciousness, prompting me to start creating a vision board. The vision board will clarify where I want to go in my life. The process made me realize it’s impossible to move forward to where you want to go unless you have the clarity to know exactly what you want.
That’s harder than I thought.
For some things, planning what you want is relatively easy. If I want to go to Tioga to visit my sister, I know exactly where I want to end up. I plan the clothes and other necessities I’ll take, when I’ll leave and when I’ll come back. The fine-tuning of actually getting there requires me to go to the bank to get money, fill my car with gas and refresh my recollection of the routes to take. I know that planning will get me where I want to go and back. My mind takes over on the details and I just act to make the trip a reality.
So I’ve been asking myself, ‘What DO I really want?’ I guess I’m at the age (54) where I realize what is important…and what’s not.
Like the first picture, I may be able to see a little bit, but the long-distance view is foggy. But the second picture portrays something beyond the fog…a light beyond the fog. All I have to do is create the 20/20 picture in my mind. Anyone want to share any other suggestions?
Pretend you are assigned the task of telling a complete stranger what she should do with her life. You don't consider her past or present circumstances. By eliminating all the extraneous info, you can tell her and yourself what you think is important to include in your plan for the future.