When You Lose Your Vision The World Can't Find You (revisited)

This quote from the Welsh poet David Whyte summarizes the incredible power of a compelling vision. My experience as a coach reinforces my perspective that the word “world” has both internal and external connotations. Some of my clients have lost their mooring – their sense of purpose and direction – and their internal world of self has come into question. For others, their inability to generate a sense in others that they were in the thrall of a compelling vision has resulted in them being overlooked or discounted as players.

We all live in two worlds. We live in an external world that is generally assumed to be populated by all others on the planet. That world has some generalized as well as some culturally specific norms. Very simplistically, these norms are what others use to determine my place in the world from their perspective. Does there seem to be a direction or trajectory to my life that is meaningful in relation to these norms? Where do I belong – in their view – as a consequence of the presence (or lack) of this trajectory/direction? These world of agreement norms literally determine how “others” value me and relate to me.

The other world in which we live is highly and uniquely personal. It is my internal world. It is the world of my sensations, my moods, my feelings, my thoughts, my values, and my experiences. It is the world I reference when I think of “me.”

In order to be able to function effectively in either world there needs to be some sense of belonging (i.e., I am significant, have worth, and/or am noticed) and some sense of trajectory (i.e., I’m going to and/or am contributing to some “what” that is meaningful and worthwhile). It is these two dimensions of belonging and trajectory that a compelling vision empowers and that the "world" resonates with.

The tragedy of losing my vision for my life is not just that I lose touch with that which gives life meaning. I also lose the capacity for "life" to find me. I become isolated, unsure of my ability to make things happen; doubting my worth and questioning the very nature of my existence.

We all need a vision for our life. We need the direction that vision provides; one that culminates in an end point that is really a rally point for the resources I can tap into as I use myself up. And, isn't that the point? To be used up in the pursuit of something I value.