I have visions of the future all the time. By this I mean nothing more than when I look to the future I see a version of our world that’s different than what it is today. It has evolved in ways large and small. People that I know and love have aged and grown. Circumstances have changed.
I’m an optimist so my future visions are almost always optimistic. In other words, I see a better world to come. It’s better because there’s more love and beauty, or because a need has been satisfied, a problem solved, a goal reached.
Sometimes these visions are personal. I see my family and I on an adventurous vacation that hasn’t yet been scheduled. I see myself leading a less stressful and more meaningful life in which I’m doing more of what makes me happy, like being creative and spending time with friends.
I also have visions of things much larger than myself, such as the city in which I live, or America, or even all of humanity. These visions can be harder to grasp but they’re just as real. I see sections of downtown intelligently redeveloped with active and vibrant streetscapes. I see people around the globe recognizing that we’re all in this together, collaborating, treating one another with kindness and respect.
I love these future visions because they allow me to see what’s possible. I firmly believe that a better world is always possible.
These visions are also the first step in figuring out how to turn them into reality, and by turning them into reality we help to create a better world.
Most of my future visions aren’t grand in scale, or complex solutions to bring about world peace. Instead they’re smaller and more localized. I see our kitchen redesigned. I see myself completing an impactful project at work. I see the City of Niagara Falls rediscovering itself and blossoming.
I see the end game and get inspired. I talk about it or write it down or sketch it out. The vision becomes tangible this way. It becomes its own thing that can be shared and discussed and worked towards.
There’s something so beautiful and simple about a vision like this. It’s fully resolved and complete in my mind with nothing weighing it down. At this point there’s been no struggle to get there, or challenges to overcome. It’s pure and uncomplicated. It’s also where the real work begins.
Advancing the vision, transforming it, giving it a place in the real world is difficult and time consuming. It takes heart and resolve. It also requires meaningful compromise. This is where realism comes in.
Realism paints a much different portrait of the future than visions do, but by no means is it the opposite. Realism just tells a more honest story of how hard it will be to navigate the path forward. It concedes that things won’t work out perfectly.
For example, brokering an agreement when people don’t see things the same way can be grueling. But with persistence and finesse and a strong stomach it can be done. There might be a bizarre framework holding it together that nobody loves, but it will still be forward progress.
Compelling projects often cost lots of money and take too much time to complete. Molding them into something do-able is messy, frustrating work in which hard calls need to be made to prioritize certain goals over others. In my view, finding this sweet spot and doing something is far better than doing nothing.
I get so frustrated by the all or nothing politics of the day where you either win or you lose. It’s too simplistic. It’s unrealistic. And worst of all, it’s totally unproductive.
Instead I look for balance. I focus on moving forward, on building momentum.
There’s so much value in incremental progress when you’re headed toward a vision of something better. Small, measured steps in that direction add up in a big way.
I embrace this way of thinking. It’s one of my guiding philosophies in life.
If I hold out for perfection I may never get there. But if I’m flexible and focus on taking small steps forward then my world improves, slowly but surely.
It’s so important to have vision because that’s how you know which way to go. But realism is essential too, because it illuminates the twisted path to get there.