The difference between Sight and Vision - look beyond now

In North America, it is estimated that about 70% of the working population suffer from some form of sight impairment. I think that number would be much larger if we considered vision impairment. But what’s the difference?

For the purpose of our discussion here today, I want to make a distinction between sight and vision: Sight is physical. Vision is mental. The organs of sight are the eyes. The organs of vision are the heart and mind. Sight is bound by time and distance, vision is only bound by the imagination.

Think about that word for a minute – Image-in-a-tion – the ability to create images in your mind. This is vision.

What images do you carry in your mind of yourself and your future? What vision do you have of your future? Have you ever stopped to think about what your life should look like five, ten maybe even fifty years down the road?

I first came to this crossroad of sight and vision a few years ago early on in my career. I was working in a field in which many would have been glad to work but I realized that I did not want to be there. As far as sight goes, things were pretty—bills were paid and the company had a nice building with all the neat little perks. Sight markers? Check. On a day to day basis, any onlooker would have thought things were peachy.

But my vision did not match that industry or even that profession. I would ultimately leave that industry to pursue my vision for my life—and I have never looked back. And when things have been tough, vision always kept me going and has been a big part of creating the life I enjoy today.

A person’s power of sight helps them navigate their physical circumstances but the power of their vision can change their physical circumstances.

We are often trapped by sight—the bills in front of us; the boss in front of us; the bus we need to catch to get to the next point of business. And we forget vision.

The irony is that whether we think about it or not, we are inadvertently creating a future. One we would have to live with whether we like it or not. Do we think things will just fall into place like a jigsaw puzzle that magically assembles itself on the table after its pieces are flung into the air? Not likely.

Success begins with seeing things differently. Seeing yourself and your environment differently.

I challenge you as we get to the end of the year to take a cold hard look at yourself and ask if you have been sacrificing vision for sight.

You may not need to quit your career. Most don’t have to. Some will need to.

Ask yourself: Am I on the path to becoming someone I feel inspired to be? Am I truly expanding as a person and taking the steps to fulfill my potential? If I am not, why not? What habits are stopping me? What vision can I create for myself—one that excites and energizes me.

Remember it is difficult to envision the blue skies of possibilities while swimming in the sea of sight.

You may need to take some time to yourself. Perhaps wake up a little earlier each morning; perhaps go to sleep a little later each night. Better still, do both. And spend that time inquiring silently within yourself “what do I want out of my life?” And write down your insights.

This exercise is well worth doing till you gain clarity. It is not all you need to do. But it is a start. After all, you cannot chart a course to an unknown destination. This is why doing this exercise is so important. Take the time - it will be more than worth it.

Get out of the grind and minutiae of the day to day. Get out of mere sight for a while. Sight may get you through your days but days quickly add up to weeks, weeks to months and months to years. And to neglect to develop and work towards a vision is to drown your years in a sea of days and never explore the freedom of the skies.

I challenge you today to begin to exercise your sense of vision and to craft a new and compelling story for your future and then to do something every day to move you in that direction.Godspeed.