Power Tool - Assessment

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M. Anand Bhaskar 22nd October anand_avi@yahoo.com

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Power Tool of Anand Bhaskar

DREAM vs. VISION

In my journey of self-awareness I have gone back a few million moments in life, childhood, adolescence and my youth to think about what has made me what I am today? The discovery during this journey has been very profound. There is no gadget created by man that can work at the pace of this mind. The human brain is able to process multiple layers of information simultaneously. Reflecting on the past, being in the present moment and thinking of the future, and each of this at multiple levels. Isnt this amazing? Probably for me the most profound has been the amount of time the mind spends reflecting on the past or thinking of the future, but not experiencing the present. Each moment of the present is seen more carefully in hindsight than experienced fully in its moment. Also a lot of present is spent thinking about the future. Interestingly in our sleep too we are dreaming either about the past or a future that isnt? In our waking moments, we are either consciously dreaming or unconsciously dreaming. Either way we are not in the present. However, the interesting part is there is an intention to invest the time of the present moment to better a future moment. As I examine a power tool, examining the human minds curiosity to delve into the future from two angles Dream Vs. a Vision. How are these two different? What impact could it have for a Client from a coaching perspective?
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One of the essential aspects of coaching is to create energy towards action in the Client to make a shift in ones current situation. Often times there situations where the client is thoughtful, explores multiple options as he runs through the situation in his mind, challenges his own assumptions and identifies areas for action. However, the intent does not translate into action. The intent remains wishful thinking like a dream, a desire of a go to state but it is not backed with the motivation that one might require for making progress. This is where there could be a potential difference between a desire (a dream state) and compelling action (a visionary zeal) to bring about a change in ones current state.

What is a Dream?

Various people have analyzed the word dream in different ways and there are different schools of thought on dreams. Dream to me is a state of mind, where the movement of thoughts creates a semblance of being dynamically engaged but the underlying levers of the mind are stationary. In other words it could be interpreted as fantasy, visualizing something that could be termed as unreal, wishful etc. that fuels ones ego state. In a dream state a person is either consciously or sub-consciously visualizing a state that currently does not exist, very often it is a wishful state, it could also be a sub- conscious or unarticulated state under exploration by the mind. There are options that are at play in the mind, but what is most often missing is action. Hence, I call it an underlying stationary state of mind.

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What is a Vision?

A vision can be termed as a picture of the future, something that is inspiring, compelling and a framework that paints a future state. A vision can also be termed as a go to state and it reminds you of what you are trying to build for the future. It sets a direction for yourself and imagines the future state capturing your inherent passion. A vision is also often connected to ones inner values and beliefs. It emanates from a deep sense of confidence & self-belief, which creates a drive for action. In other words, a vision provides a destination to reach to; provides a high level direction but does not provide a detailed route map. Unlike a dream, a vision is often spoken about, repeated, reinforced to keep it alive and constantly remind oneself of the same. Hence, it is mostly written down and shared widely. Ultimately, having a vision is about knowing the goals you wish to achieve and willing to make the difficult choices enroute to achieve that goal. Hence, vision is all about action, action & more action, which makes it a dynamic state, in ones mind.

Self-Application
Has there been a time when you deeply wanted something but never did anything about it except think? Has been a secret fantasy that you have held close to your heart for many years and constantly reflect about it even today? Are there any unfulfilled dreams that you have over the last many years? Have you reflected on why those dreams of yours are still not fulfilled? How passionately you felt about those dreams?

While you think of all these questions, do also take a moment to think about the following questions: What have been your biggest achievements in life so far? How propelled were you to achieve these goals? How did you plan for these goals and what did you do to accomplish them? What were the hurdles that came your way and how did you overcome them? What was your degree of passion towards achieving these goals in your life? How do you feel now when you look back at these achievements?
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Self Reflections:

As we think about our lives, there are many achievements that we have accomplished and there are many unfulfilled dreams. The key difference between the two is how passionate we felt about them? When it comes to our achievements, we would have had immense determination to accelerate towards them. However, when it comes to a few dreams, they would be a mere desire or a wish. That is what differentiates a dream and a vision. A vision is energizing is challenging creates a sense of aspiration drives up the inherent human achievement orientation puts a goal out there to go after builds momentum and drives action

Coaching Application: Dream Vs. Vision

From a coaching perspective, the role of the coach is to enable to client to move forward from his current state. The client also has the intent to move from the current state to a new or better state in his mind. Now the question is how does the client or coaches know that they are moving from state A to say state B? There are often times when the client is intellectually aware, the client has moved from unconscious unawareness to conscious awareness, but finds it difficult to translate his intent to actions. This is where the dream state vs. vision state comes into play. The Client in a state of intellectual awareness could visualize the end state and also in many cases the actions to be taken. However, when the visualization freezes into intellectual conversational harmony in the mind, the situation would be a dream state. However, when the visualization translates into compelling action on the ground and forward movement towards the goal, it would be a vision state.

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One of the key aspects of the coaching process is to enable the client to move from a dream state to a vision state and engage the client to commit towards action. Translation from intent to action will enable shifts in the situation for the client both in the mind and on the ground. It will build the dynamism that the client intends to see for himself. How would dreams vs. Vision manifest in a conversation? Dream statements Vision statements I would like to By the end of (period), I will I have often felt I have always believed I dream if I could My vision is If I were lucky, I would have My goal is to I feel I should It is my passion In a coaching scenario helping the client recognize the wish, the feeling, the desire, the dream is important, if it exists. However, as the client aspires to move forward, it will be of immense value to the client to enable him to shift from wish & desires, to passion and goals for himself. The moment that shift happens, the transformation would start kicking in for the client. The recognition of this transformation will propel the journey further for the client. Coaching as a process is all about enabling to recognize self, discovering our own state of mind, our blocks and charting a path forward towards our goals in life. It is about translating or converting our DREAMS into a VISION for ourselves, so as to enable realization of our GOALS.

Coaching Reflections:
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How do you enable a Client to have a vision for himself? What should the articulation of a vision look like for the client? How do you help the client track his progress towards his vision? How do you help the client know if he is making progress? How does the client know when he has reached his goal? - By M. Anand Bhaskar
Copyright 2006 International Coach Academy Pty. Ltd. Use is governed by the Terms and Conditions at http://www.icoachacademy.com