Why You Need a Vision for Your Career

Like every important endeavour, you need a vision if you want to succeed in your career. Don’t leave this to chance. Be intentional and professional about it every step of the way. I began this series on career as a journey two weeks ago by sharing the preparation required for a successful career and today I am going to focus on a critical landmark - the vision.

What is a career vision and why is it necessary to have one? A career vision is the long-term concept of who you want to be or achieve in your career. Your career vision is arguably the most important aspect of this area of your life and is rightly at the heart of its development framework. It should therefore be taken with the utmost seriousness and intentionality.

How does your career vision come into being? The formation of one’s career vision does not start at a conscious level. Its formation begins in childhood when the future career person gains sufficient consciousness to notice the entry of potential ‘role models’ into their physical or mental space, usually in a way that attracts their sensitive curiosity.

The mind is therefore central to the formulation of the career vision although other aspects of the young individual such as their sight, hearing, emotions, and will etc play co-creating roles.

At this stage, the child is too young to understand the concept of a career but it becomes clearer as they grow up.

Once the formation of the career vision starts, it is bombarded with both positive and negative forces, and of course, the young individual’s innate tendencies or willpower are borne out of their genetic code and environmental influences. The positive forces can be described as those choices that facilitate or/and accelerate the attainment of the vision such as relevant training and education, and on the other hand negative forces are defined as distractive tendencies and the pursuit of easy options. ?

Be aware that you are being courted by both forces; those that strive to keep you focused on your vision, and those that seek to distract or lure you away from it. ?Positive forces facilitate and consolidate the emergence and growth of positive energy surrounding your vision, and help build an irresistible vision, while negative forces busy themselves to do the reverse.? If you choose the side of positive forces, the net result will be a compelling and attractive vision that grows and matures in the young person’s mind up on the ladder of their chosen career. ?

The foregoing explains the tug-of-war you have been experiencing about the formulation of your career vision. Don’t let this struggle go by without a good fight. Regularly revisit your vision and refresh it to gain greater clarity and focus.

To avoid finding yourself without options, create two or three possible career paths that align with your vision; prioritize them and give them the appropriate attention.

Here is a partial narrative of the development of my career vision. When I was 12 years of age, I began to associate with diverse missionary development and spiritual activities. I was so impressed that I started to envision myself involved in that vocation in my adult life. ?From then I took control of the painting of what I wanted to be and deliberately installed it in my consciousness. They were finer and more intentional details that largely shaped me into becoming what I am.

How does the existence of a career vision impact your career? A career vision has a profound impact on one’s career. It serves like a lighthouse directing, energizing and guiding you to your destination. It goes without saying that in the absence of a career vision people are poorly motivated and can lose their career direction.

How does the lack of vision affect your career? This is how you will be affected if you don’t have a vision or for that matter a clear vision. If you don’t have a clear vision:

Firstly, in the absence of a well-crafted and compelling vision, your career journey will be devoid of the attraction inherent in a vision. In the absence of a vision, you will not be motivated on your career journey. ?So will become like a piece of cotton wool being blown about by the wind. Also, you will be unable to develop effective goals and consequently make little progress.

Secondly, without a career vision, you will not experience a high level of motivation that could be derived from a compelling vision. Consequently, your career will lack the dynamism, vibrancy and mindset needed for success.

Unfortunately, many societies and families still leave career ideation and development to chance, consequently leaving their people deprived of great accomplishments and fulfilment that could have significantly elevated their quality of life and hastened their transformation.

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????? In summary, a successful and fulfilling career starts with the individual catching the glitter of what they wish to be in the long term, and taking the steps to nurture it. ??

It is advisable to nurture several options of career vision so you do not run the risk of total dispossession should the worst happen. If you don’t have a career vision, urgently start creating one now to draw inspiration, direction, guidance and motivation from it toward a successful future.

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