7 Ways to Think Longer-Range Than You Do Now

1. Carve out time to ponder the future. Set up a personal or team retreat in a beautiful setting to allow space for
   visioning.
2. Brainstorm your ideal destination (or state of being)–whether personal or organizational–the brighter tomorrow, where you are humming on all cylinders with a sense of fulfillment and no regrets. You can do this by making a vision board or write it as a narrative.
3. Keep that vision (snapshot of the future) in front of you every day: in your journal, on your whiteboard, in your meetings, and/or on your computer monitor. Out of sight = out of mind, and back to the whirlwind of life.
4. Build into your weekly rhythm some practical baby steps to get closer to that vision. This progress builds momentum. Vision-pursuit now becomes part of your daily actions, not an add-on that is easily put to the side for more urgent tasks.
5. Surround yourself with futuristic people or coaches, who ask you deeper questions about where you are headed. You don’t know what you don’t know. Their long-range focus will start to rub off on you.
6. Take people to lunch who have attained more success than you. Since they are farther down the road than you, ask them questions about their path to the exciting future you want to create for yourself.
7. Constantly be asking, “What’s the next iteration of this _____ to upgrade it for increasing payoff 10 months (or 10 years) from now?”

Lift your eyes off today’s circumstances for a while to the horizon of a better life at work or at home. And go for it!  Need an objective sounding board to get you off the dime in this visioning process? You don’t need to look any farther than Growing Forward Services! pcgrowingforward@gmail.com