Create Your 2020 Vision With This Simple Exercise

’20/20 vision’ is a term that means a person has been tested as having normal vision. It’s actually possible to have even better than 20/20 vision – such as 20/15 or even 20/10 vision. But what I’m talking about in this short article is your vision for yourself and your life in the coming year of 2020… and in the coming decade of the 2020s!

What is a Vision and Why Create One?

Creating a vision is like creating an anchor for your life and your being, the raw material being emotional energy. In fact, the word vision may even be misleading – some people find it easier to anchor themselves with sound (such as a mantra), or simply with feeling. Even if your anchor is primarily visual, it happens inside yourself and may be vague, formless, and could even change over time.

The clarity comes in the feeling.

You can create as many visions for yourself as you desire. You can have one for each aspect of your life (the way I design my life, I have 12 aspects – e.g. spiritual, physical, emotional, professional). One major purpose of creating a vision is to know which goals to set for yourself. Your goals should emanate from your vision – not the other way around. And if you happen to be reading this after the new year has begun – don’t worry, you can do this at any time!

There are so many activities and exercises you can try in order to create a vision for the new year and for the new decade. The best ones are those that optimize clarity not just in what you are going to do in the future, but who you are going to be.

The 20/20 Vision Exercise

Here’s the exercise I have for you as you begin your new year and your new you…

Most of us have two eyes with which to see the world around us. So this exercise is in two parts. (In the future, I will write about my Third Eye Vision Exercise, but not here.)

Part 1 of the 20/20 Vision Exercise

In the first part of this exercise, I want you to imagine something you would consider negative happening to the circumstances in your life. Not quite what you were expecting? Not to worry, all will become clear…

Many circumstances are out of our control. It could be a financial collapse, a broken computer, extra work given to you on a busy day, a health issue, or even the death of a loved one. It all happens. And for most people, that’s when the vision they have of their future achievements and success suddenly collapses. Because they created a vision based on WHAT instead of WHO.

Now I don’t want you to imagine anyone’s death for this exercise. But I do want you to imagine a negative circumstance or two. You may like to take a few minutes to consider potential obstacles or inconveniences you may face over the next year (or decade). And then I’d like you to ask yourself how you would like to react to these obstacles.

Consider the consequences your reactions (internal and external) will have. Rather than blocking out the possibilities of obstacles and then becoming explosive, melancholic, despondent or bitter when they happen, consider how you could optimize these situations into opportunities for growth.

You might want to imagine yourself from the outside – do you look calm? Prepared? Mindful? Ready for the challenge? Are you inspiring the others around you? Are you defusing the chaos? Imagine how your reactions will impact those around you.

Now imagine how you feel on the inside. How does it feel to BE this person? This is at the heart of creating an impenetrable vision for yourself. You can have an impact on the world around you, but you can be in total control of yourself.

Take a few minutes to visualize this as clearly as you can with your eyes closed. Maintain the feeling, build it, nourish it. And when you’ve got it, practice it – daily. This is the best way to alter your identity so that you are not controlled by the circumstances around you. Instead, you are self-regulated even when circumstances get rough, because you have practiced being that way.

All goals and resolutions aim towards a feeling anyway. If you continue asking yourself why you want to achieve something in your life, in the end it will always come down to how it makes you feel. Try it out and see for yourself. So why do people develop such lavish visions and goals for the circumstances of their lives, when they haven’t developed visions for who they want to be and how they want to feel? That’s where most people go wrong. When things around start to crumble, their visions can’t last – because they haven’t rooted it in who they are.

This is true inner strength.

Part 2 of the 20/20 Vision Exercise

Now that you’ve rooted yourself in strength, it’s time for the second (and, arguably, more enjoyable) part. The first eye looks out to see the negative circumstances, and the second eye looks out to see the positive circumstances.

This part works similarly to the first part in its method. Imagine great things happening in your life – things around you go smoothly and fortune is on your side. These are all still circumstances that are out of your control. Maybe they have occurred because of your previous hard work or wisdom, but that’s not the point – the point is that now, in this very moment, they are your circumstances.

You might be amazed at how many people regret who they became under positive circumstances. Just ask the majority of lottery winners, who squander their money. Or ask a person who was recently dumped by a spouse or a partner, who suddenly wish they’d appreciated what they had before they lost it. And how many times have you procrastinated in your life because it felt like you had all the time in the world?

I want you now to imagine a couple of things going well in your life over the next year. How do you want to react? How grateful do you want to be? Do you want to share the love with others? How do you want to celebrate? How exactly do you want to feel the positive energy?

Imagine yourself from the outside, and imagine yourself from the inside. Really tap into those good feelings, those positive vibes. And know that you’re in control of those. You can tap into those whenever you like – you don’t even have to wait for the right circumstances to come along. In fact, if you practice feeling like this every day, then the chances of you really appreciating the good things in life multiply.

Your 2020 Habit

The 20/20 Vision Exercise is a rock-solid identity anchor if you apply it in your life by cultivating the practice on a regular basis. The trick is to not focus on the circumstances, but on your reactions to them. Go inward. It will change who you are, and who you are changes your life. This is a mindful way not just to begin the new decade, but to begin a new you.

If you’re interested in having Identity Coaching with me in order to take these practices much further and become the best version of yourself, you can view this page to learn more about it. Or you can contact me directly using the form below.