I wrote this paragraph below in mid-October 2015:
On July 1, 2016 I will be driving in car with windows down on a beautiful summers day with John up north for the Fourth of July. Our plane tickets to Europe bought – we will have been accepted to a top MBA school. John and I will have moved out of compass with building managers in place. The last day of my job at Medtronic is approaching – I am leaving with the sense of having made an enormous contribution to the company and people I work with. John has a sense of peace, anticipation and happiness. We have more than enough money and John has an awesome impending job nearby my new school. Abroad adventures all over the world are booked and planned. I have the experience of launching into exactly what we are to be doing next in life.
Did this happen yesterday? Not even close. Yesterday, John
and I were frantically sprinting around Minneapolis, fitting Spain visa and
passport logistics among precious last visits with friends. It was a good day,
but a stressful one with new things to accomplish at every hourly interval.
Still, I will take the day captured above one day late. July
2nd, 2016 - right now John and I are driving to Madeline Island for
the 4th of July with the windows down on a beautiful summer’s day.
We have the wind in our hair and smiles on our faces. Most everything in the
above statement has come true or is coming true. We got into our top choice school
in Europe, things are wrapping up at Medtronic beautifully, and John and I are
excited and happy. We even have building managers for the Compass (our rental
property) selected as we prepare for our imminent move to Barcelona, Spain. It’s
actually happening!
In this moment I am able to sit back and take immense
satisfaction in the fact that what I envisioned, worked for and dreamed of came
true today. Some of it effortlessly, some of it through blood, sweat, tears and
sacrifice. But here we are – we have arrived. So many days throughout the past year
the above statement occurred to me as too good to be true, as a pipe dream, as a
fantasy. It is quite surreal to be sitting here - realizing that my reality and
dreams have become indistinguishable from one another. I love Mike Dauphinee’s challenge last week to Millennials “What do you want? Really?” This question puts a thumb on the pulse of an important truth: being able to articulate and, subsequently, willing to fight for what you want is an important and immensely fulfilling part of life. Our parents and leaders have long been telling us the importance of visualizing and believing in oneself. I remember my first grade teacher having our whole class chant Walt Disney’s quote every day: “If you can dream it, you can do it!”
Therefore, having an appetite for sitting with and boldly
answering this question is critical for Millennials today. And I believe this
so strongly that I have taken it on for myself. Today, I am grateful to be a
Millennial who has worked hard to have an answer to the question “what do I
want?” and furthermore have turned my answer into a living, breathing reality. My
ability to be where I am today can be entirely summarized in the statement
below:
Hold the Vision, Trust
the Process
I do not know the origins of this statement, but it was
shared with me one worry-filled winter’s night this January by a good friend of
mine, Karin Nord. I was about to retake the GMAT (business school entrance
exam) for the fourth time and was overwhelmingly anxious. In talking with
Karin, she said this very thing, “Kelsie, hold the vision, trust the process.”
She then went on to encourage me to lean into the unfolding future and be
willing to “fail forward” as I pursued my goals.
At the time I found this immensely centering. The statement
immediately went up on the white board in our kitchen. However, I also found,
day after day, through studying for the test, school applications and other ups
and downs, living this statement was
much easier said than done. Nevertheless, I charged forward. And here is what I
discovered about this statement and how to actually live it out:
HOLDING THE VISION – If knowing what I want is a pencil sketch,
then holding the vision is coloring between the lines. For me, holding the
vision looks like imagining and re-imagining the future I want with new and
brilliant details. Holding the vision also means believing this future was
possible, believing that something that seems so good it isn’t just meant to be
the stuff of daydreams. Holding the vision also means shedding the insecurities
that aren’t in line with my vision – letting go of creeping doubts like “I am
not good enough or smart enough to do this,” or “going to a dream school..,
that is for other people, not me.” Holding the vision means being willing to
articulate my vision out loud, share it with people I trust and care about.
Holding my vision also means accepting myself and building, brick by brick,
genuine confidence and belief in myself.
TRUSTING THE PROCESS – To me, trusting the process means sometimes
letting go of control, of being willing to accept and embrace the journey of
getting where I want to go. That also means when I was in the trough of a wave
of failure – being willing to have faith that this moment too was meant to
happen and a part of the bigger picture. Trusting the process means being willing
to ask for and accept help. Trusting the process means being willing to have grace
with myself when I come up short. Trusting the process also means knowing that
things aren’t always going to go according to plan and being able to stay
nimble through the changes. Trusting the process sometimes means doing what needs
to get done, or taking a calculated risk. Other times it means sitting back and
waiting. Trusting the process means never, ever fully giving in to my fears and
fighting them with all the tenacity, spirit and compassion I can muster.
Fellow Millennials, we are at a time in our lives when we
have more uncertainty, change and variables than likely at any other phase. You
might be graduating college, embarking on marriage, or moving to a new place.
Or you might have the job, the home, the girlfriend and are still left restless,
looking for something more. Being in the thick of this uncertainty takes something; I wrote a post about this about a month ago. And I think we aren't only called to gracefully navigate this uncertainty, but even more step forward into our lives and intentionally shape the future we want for ourselves and the world.
With this in mind,
I leave you with this: First, “how good can you stand your life to get? What does ‘having it all’ mean to you? What is worth your while more than anything else?”
Second, take that answer, even if it is just a wisp or a fleeting glint at this moment in time, and cling to it. Dwell on it. Entertain it. Color it in until it becomes your vision.
Third, hold that vision with all your might, and trust the process of making that vision a reality with all your strength. I truly believe a life beyond your wildest imagination will begin to unfold before your eyes. It is up to you — to us — to live a life of our wildest fantasies. Are you willing?
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