Vision

I had an exercise at a leadership conference a couple of weeks ago, where the moderator told us to quickly write down 10 things that are important to us (that we value) on sticky notes. In fact, you can quickly take out some stickies or papers and do this now. Next she asked us to remove two, then two again, until we only had two left…what do you have left? For most of us we have had to subconsciously make those decisions at some point in our lives. It is interesting in this exercise to have to make those decisions mindfully, about which you are choosing over the other. Her overall point for us was that it was vital for us to plan our future. It is not enough to have vague plans, but rather in order to make a life that incorporates the things we enjoy, we need to start getting to the details of what our careers will look like. That is why a 5 year plan matters. You don’t want to create a career that is inconsistent with the type of life you want and the things that are important to you. For example, choosing to travel constantly if you don’t even like to travel. 

I think as a Sikh the overall picture of our future must include a couple of factors. Firstly, our most important task that must be prioritized above all others is our path to God. We must incorporate this time for a spiritual and family life (grist marag) into any planning we have. It can't be an after-thought because there is one singular reason we came into this human life. Second, we must recognize that there is no promise of tomorrow at all, and our daily paath is our mental preparation that we must at one time leave this body. That piece is important in realizing how this moment must be lived to the fullest, not waiting for tomorrow or some future retirement. This prevents us from living with regret. It is certainly difficult to make plans with life’s unpredictability as God gives us new opportunities and new challenges constantly. I remind myself daily that Guru Ji says “Chinta Ta Ke Kijye Je Anhoni Hoi”- only have anxiety if the impossible happens, and by God’s will the impossible will never happen. There are some opportunities that just come effortlessly in life, present themselves to us and take us by surprise. Other times, we thought a door was open for us but we are faced with more and more obstacles. God can resolve problems that you once thought could not be overcome and you finally achieve what was originally planned. This requires persistence. Lastly, there are the times that you thought the door was opened but it closes. You must have acceptance of Hukam, that this door was not meant to be open, at least not now. It was never as simple as just having a vision of what you want and carrying it through.   

I realized a couple of months ago that I needed to start planning what life brings for me starting next summer. For the last 10 years I’ve had a plan, and although that plan has changed a lot, the general layout of finishing my program has been the same. Now as that comes to an end, I’m left with a blank slate from which to work with and my vague vision actually needs some planning. In many ways I had long since been thinking about how to plan a family with this career but didn’t know where to start. It has been great getting some ideas from fellow female colleagues, and specifics on factors that need to be considered. Then come the decisions of where to live, what work-life balance looks like, and even choosing who specifically I want to spend my time with at work and outside of work. We all have lots of people in our lives, but who are you bringing into that inner circle of spending your precious time. Who are you sharing your life with- those day to day ups and downs. Who will be there when you really need them. We know this sangat can change our lives and it comes back to that first most important spiritual task. Lastly, the time outside of your job is highly important. You should select activities that “fill you cup" and give you life and energy. There are hundreds of opportunities that pull at our time, but we need to be mindful in ensuring we are doing the ones that we are passionate about. I realized, for example, that I really want to do some health education and advocacy for the Punjabi community because that was some of what I enjoyed the most during my volunteerism in diabetes education as a teen. 

If you have not made a plan of where you see yourself going, perhaps start thinking about it and getting into more details about how that would look on a weekly or monthly basis. I think that as we start to explore in more detail we realize we have more questions for ourselves and we undergo some self-exploration. If you did the sticky-notes exercise above you might realize there are things in your life now that you could incorporate better. Does your vision for your future incorporate Sikhi principles like Naam Japna, Vand Shakna, and Kirat Karni? Are the people you've chosen in your life, that you spend your time with, the ones that support your vision for where you are going in your life?