Self-Management – Articulating ideas and visions

“Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass”

It is foolish to drive around aimlessly looking for a destination without an address, directions or a map. Similarly, we cannot reach anywhere in life without a roadmap or a plan. If we keep on hovering over without a plan, we gradually get stuck in a ‘Stress Cycle’ which never ends and gives us no output.

To give a direction to life, at the outset, one needs to have a personal vision. A vision is the ability to think about or plan the future with imagination and wisdom. The vision is dependent on personal values, goals and desires of an individual. It allows to have a ‘Balanced Cycle’ where life is inner-directed and meaning-driven. Once the vision is clear, then the strategy can be formulated to realise that vision.

Vision reflects a long-term goal which may appear to be unachievable in the beginning but one must have faith, belief and confidence in own ideas and vision. In an organisation, once the vision is articulated clearly to the team members, they start believing in you and work cohesively as a team towards achieving the goals.

Self-management is a key skill required to achieve goals and success in life.

The most important characteristic of self-management is accepting responsibilities. We must not blame others or make excuses for non-accomplishments. They say,

“When you blame others, you give up your power to change.”

In fact, if something goes wrong, we must self-reflect. Practising the habit of learning from the mistakes can help us to overcome our weaknesses and rethink our approach.

It is vital to continuously monitor our own performance so that we know which direction we are heading towards. The metrics or benchmarks must be clear against which performance will be measured. If required, expert judgement can also be relied upon.

Learn from mistakes, try to improve, monitor your performance and keep moving forward. This simple process of self-management can help improve your performance and keep you moving towards your goals.