Taking control: Beware of over-thinking your vision!

Be alert for opportunities because only when you
 seek will you find your life purpose! 

Thinking is a cognitive function which enables a person to perceive, analyse and understand the environment especially in decision making. Overthinking is prolonging this process; thus making it impossible to have satisfactory answers for the matter at hand.

What constitutes a well thought vision? 
A well thought vision is one that informs a logical framework towards the desired goal.  A personal goal is an established and specific need that portrays a person’s life purpose. It is an intense desire that energises a person to pool and direct all resources towards its fulfilment. This is where overthinking could be your enemy because you need to keep focus of the end result and not seek details of HOW you would avail all resources and undertake all steps.  A well-thought vision is illustrated as follows:

1.    What do I want to achieve in my life? The answer could be; I want to run an English medium pre-schools in all ten District of Lesotho.

2.    Why do I want preschools? To impact education system positively by improving the level of English standard during the formative years of children development. The intention is to create a sub-group that appreciates and embraces basic Internet skills and speak and write English as a first language in order to access a global job markets.

3.    Foreseeable positive impact:  A well thought vision has some form of evaluation to measure return on investment.  In this illustration it would be a high proficiency in English and exposure in Internet technology leading to higher grades in these subjects. 

Consequences of over-thinking your vision!

Over-thinking the above given example would be attempting to have step-by-step implementation and management plan which may not be possible because of external factors. Yes, I do have a clear but not conclusive idea of what I want and how it will run. The over-thinking of non-technical vision is likely to create challenges than solutions. Over thinking is likely to enlarge minor obstacles because every time I do not have satisfied details of how I would undertake a certain task or have access to adequate resources, it would take a heavy toll on my motivation. The more I analyse the required resources details, the less likely of getting started at a lower level with readily available resources.

What to do to overcome over-thinking my vision!

Overthinking is a learnt behaviour; it is a form of procrastination when it pertains to non-technical matter and therefore can be unlearnt through affirmation and other behaviour change modification techniques as follows:

1.    Learn to access your inner voice: Bypass you logic to maintain a focus of the ultimate goal. Your vision is always bigger than your own resources. You need others to perform tasks you cannot do!

2.    Think out-side the box: Apply faith that your vision is given and you need to rely on the knowing that, what you want shall come to pass by improving your knowledge base and building a team of people equipped with skills you do not have. Take action on planned activities daily. Look at this long-term assignment like when you take a journey: You may not have all details of the route, but you ask for confirmation of direction along the way to your destination.  Your daily concerted efforts are like your car head-lights; they enable you to see short distance in front but will direct each mile to your destination.

This man banned overthinking...actions
 speaks louder than words!

3.    Think and take actions: Prolonged thinking without action will inflict fear as you elaborate on what you do not know or how far you are from acquiring adequate resources. Your vision may be abandoned and remain a good idea. Believe in yourself and take actions!

4.   Ban the fear of failure: Being anxious is a process of accumulating negative energy. All good inventions came through lots of failures; success came through perseverance. Failures are stepping stones that gives you an opportunity to tune up your reactive attitude to proactive approach.

Thinking is a silent talking; it is a conceiving and birthing phase of all man-made ideas. Thinking enables you to weigh the benefits of investing your personal resources – intellect, time, money and other resources - for your personal intrinsic satisfaction.  Over-thinking for non-technical vision leads to destruction of your vision by creating a reason to postpone a take-off date. Just imagine how you will feel when you look back at your life and see nothing of significance because of over-thinking! 

Taking control: How to maintain positive attitude when goals are not met!

A New Year could be a time of celebration for those who experienced some form of success towards their key personal goals. Some people on the other hand, undergo intense stress because of lack of progress in acquiring necessary resources.

Unmet goals and impact on a vision

Your annual goals are components of your vision and are measuring mechanism of your momentum towards a take-off stage. Yearly success generates a sense of fulfillment and pumps you with much needed positive energy.  I regard twelve month too short a period to evaluate success. It tends to be a reminder of the onset of aging and therefore lapsing life span. This is definitely not helping you to stay motivated nor inject positive energy toward achieving a vision.  You can however maintain positive attitude as follows:

1.    Operate in ‘seasons’ rather than calendar years. Our Creator operates in seasons and it is advisable to emulate Him for there is always wisdom in His ways.

2.    Review your vision with a purpose to evaluate your failed strategies. This is important.  You will surely see loopholes which will help you not to be disheartened, but engage in critical analysis of your activities; hence learn from your mistakes.  For example, it could be that you browsed through tutorial video instead of studying given steps of marketing your online business. You may find out that you did not utilize social media which would have improved your business because you have negative attitude about it and therefore know very little regarding its ability to generate online traffic.  So, your revised strategy will include developing open mind in order to explore new territories.

3.    Reconsider necessary resources: A vision is always bigger than your own personal resources because it is more than a project; it is meant to continue long after you pass on.  You cannot therefore have complete and all-inclusive sub-goals that will make your vision complete at a foreseeable future.  Since implementing a vision is a continuing activity, you will likely require a partner or a support of a few key people who have skills you do not have.

4.    Lack of focus on which steps to take: The internet is overflowing with advices on engaging in several jobs to be rich. While this is true, timing is important. Each newly established business needs your full attention during its teething stage like it is a case with a new-born baby.   The same applies in relationships: If your goal is to have two kids and you have just completed your Masters program; you need to find a suitable mate and not rush into marriage within a year of dating a seemingly nice girl because you are running out of time. Such approach is likely to bring calamity.

Your attitude will determine your altitude.  If 2014 did not produce desirable fruits, you need to go back to your vision and bridge the gaps without over-analyzing its strategies. Challenges expose you to think effectively about improving your situation; embrace them and regard them as stepping stones to your success.