Life without a vision is like being disoriented in a race.

You can’t see anything. You just do, for the sake of doing. You speak for the sake of speaking. There’s no purpose. It’s empty. In those periods of your life all you can see is what is right in front of you, and usually based on that you try to make rational decisions which you know aren’t the right ones.

You feel lost, you feel alone. Everyone seems to be running passed you and you feel like you’re lacking behind.

The beginning

Okay now where this all started, I had a vision. I knew where I wanted to go and even the steps I needed to take to get there. I knew what I wanted to achieve, I was running the race at a good pace. I was moving forward; towards a healthier, wealthier and happier life, then I started tripping. I tripped once, then again, then the third time I tripped someone tried to keep me up. It worked, I never fell.

The unexpected turn of events

The person kept helping me out. They held my hand every time I nearly tripped. I thought okay let me lend them a hand too. I started lending that person a hand and soon that became an arm. It slowed me down, but I didn’t mind, because that person was there, I thought the loneliness, that I never felt, was over.

I thought now I can run the race with someone else. I was convinced that to run this race with someone it was the right thing to slow down and help them catch up with me. So, I slowed down, and kept slowing down. It became harder and harder to run at the pace I used to run, because the weight I was carrying by lending him a hand, kept becoming heavier and heavier. I thought that all I needed to do was have perseverance.

The realization

But let me tell you this, if it was perseverance, I should have been getting stronger and I should have been able to run faster again, and that person should have been able to run faster too, but that wasn’t what happened. I run slower, because of the weight and that person kept hanging on me. Slowly, slowly, I started forgetting that I was running for a purpose. I forgot that I was running with a goal.

I kept pulling them, until I couldn’t run anymore. I had to stop, so, I stopped. As soon as I stopped, the person had rested enough and was able to run faster than I ever could in the first place. It bothered me, it made me feel betrayed. I got so caught up by the betrayal, that I forgot the entire purpose of me running. I forgot where I had reached in the race and was disoriented for a while. It took me some time before I could get on my feet again.

When I got back up on my feet, before I could run, I had to think again… What did I want, where did I want to get? What was my dream? What was the vision I had for my life? How did I want to do it? Then I had to start walking slowly, because my body was still not in a good form to run at full speed as I used to do. After a while I could jog again. I started seeing the goal again. I couldn’t see the finish line, but I started seeing the different milestones that were there.

It made me feel good, I knew I was on the right track. I started listening to Waze again. It showed me: which direction and how fast I could go, while showing me the fastest route to get there. The vision became clear again.

There are so many things in life that can hold you back, weighing you down, slowing you down. Until you are too tired to remember why you were moving.

The answer: Vision

The reason vision for your life is so essential is so that when other people come into your life you won’t get distracted and can stay focused on your lane. You also won’t feel bad for not dragging other people on the journey with you, because it’s their responsibility to walk in their own purpose and it’s okay if their pace isn’t the same as yours.

In short: vision helps you to get to purpose! It helps you want to stay focused in life. It helps you stay away from stupid things. When you discover the purpose for your life, you also realize that your main responsibility is to live it out, not for others, but for the one who gave you the purpose. For the one who showed you the purpose.

You don’t owe anyone anything when it comes to your vision. You don’t owe it to your family or your friends, the main reason why you’re doing this is for that “Well done…”

Right now, the vision is crystal clear. I’m back on my way to getting to my destination, while enjoying all the views and scenery one day someone will run right next to me at the same pace. Without having to pull each other, just by words, we will be able to run faster together, focused on our own individual goals, encouraging each other to reach those goals.

But for now, I’m back on track, by myself, training to run at the pace that I used to run. I’m enjoying it and so should you.

I hope you enjoyed this post on how to survive exam season! 😉
If you want to read more posts, click here.
If you want to follow my day to day journey, follow me on Instagram here.

Big love,

Joy