VISION AS PRACTICE

Reading a chapter titled “Vision,” you are probably preparing yourself either (1) for instrumental advice on how to set out goals and meet them, or (2) a more “woo-woo” approach that's going to ask you to imagine yourself sailing on a yacht (or whatever it is that most appeals to your inner fantasy life).

Actually, we think working on a vision for your life is both instrumental and creative; it involves both serious soul-searching or reflection and playful imagination. Developing your “vision” muscles is what will allow you to figure out what it is you most want to spend your time doing at work and at home. Having vision contributes to your sense of harmony across all parts of your life. It helps you figure out what “success” looks like for you, and it will aid you in articulating which opportunities you emphatically wish to embrace and which you need to turn down.

We've all heard stories of professionals who seem to have a laser-like commitment to a particular goal, and regardless of what obstacles life throws at them, they keep at that goal until they achieve “success.” This type of story might be particularly appealing or familiar to scientists: the stereotype of the lone researcher, toiling away in the lab against all odds, is still fairly prevalent in Western culture. For most of us, at some point in our careers, we seek out advice that will help us hit that “success” mark – a decision guide that will help us figure out how to navigate the many duties, responsibilities, and pressures on our time.

But many of us eventually find that calibrating our notions of “success” to external barometers, whatever they might be, leave us feeling adrift and powerless to determine what it is we want for our lives. Perhaps you are a graduate student trying to figure out which schools, projects, or advisors are best for you. Perhaps you are an early career academic who is having trouble focusing your attention – you feel pulled in all directions, or tenure and promotion expectations are not quite clear, and you receive lots of conflicting advice. Or perhaps you just received tenure, and you are wondering, now what?