Do you have an amazing vision that you have for your business, your family or your life?
Big Visions. They inspire us, they excite us, and they hold us in that place of creativity and productivity of working towards smaller goals that make up our big vision.
Being in that exciting place is holding on to a knowing that you are where you are meant to be, and that each moment of your life has led you to this very moment of knowing what you are meant to do with your life.
You have spent many hours pondering the ideas and possibilities, dreamed big, and marinated in this vision. You have discovered the steps and goals to reach the heights of your amazing vision… and you are excited and passionate about your vision.
In our excitement we need to be careful as to who we share our big dreams and visions with.
At this stage, getting around the right people is imperative. The right people are those who inspire you, encourage you, cheer us on and help you to plan out and walk out your vision. These are the people who have your back no matter what, who will talk it out with you, prop you up as your energy is falling, and remind you of your passion and why you are doing what you are doing.
As well as those who support you, you will also have people around you who don’t understand your vision and who will try and hold you down. They don’t do it intentionally, it can be because they don’t have vision and they simply they can’t see or don’t understand the big picture. They will see you changing and growing, you will have direction and they will try to hold you in their place of comfortable… but you can’t let them quench you.
Often these people will eventually catch hold of your vision, get on board and end up being some of your best cheer squad. However, you do have to wait for them to catch on in their own time – you can’t force it on them because these are the people who can potentially destroy your vision and passion very quickly.
And, then there are those who will see your vision and passion. They will understand but they will not want you to succeed… here we are talking tall poppy syndrome! These are different to the people above, because these are the ones who will agree that your vision is amazing, but they will either covertly or blatantly attempt to disrupt you at every stage of your plan.
How to determine your community around you
It is always best to use wisdom to check who the people are around you in your current group before you share your precious vision, goals and dreams. Here are some steps to help you determine which category your community fall into;
Test the waters – make a broad mention of your vision, sharing the basics only. If they are interested to know more, they will ask you more about your vision. If they aren’t interested, you will know.
Test the attitude and reactions – when you are broadly sharing your vision, watch the body language, this will indicate how they are receiving your message. If they are open and interested, continue with a bit more information. If they are closed off or not interested, they aren’t ready to hear you – and that is totally OK. They may not be in the right place to be able to share in your vision now, but that doesn’t mean they never will be.
Don’t accept rejection – If your vision is rejected or not received well, don’t take it personally. It is important to remember that not everyone has the same revelation or passions that you have. It doesn’t make your vision any less valuable.
Your vision may be fluid – often because you have a vision, it doesn’t mean that your vision won’t change due to life circumstances, and that is also OK. A good support network will help you with getting your vision back on track or help you to re-calibrate your vision. Deviations does not mean that the vision is redundant.
Remember whose vision it is – don’t forget that it is YOUR vision. You never need to feel guilty because you have a vision and you have something you are passionate about. It is not your job to conform your vision to someone else’s, however your vision may be adjusted slightly as you walk your plan to reach that vision.
It certainly is exciting to be living a vision, dream, gifting or ministry whilst aligned with supportive, like-minded people who are inspired and empowered with your vision. Only you can give someone the power to build the vision up, or the power to tear it down.