When Your 25-Year Vision Makes You Sick to Your Stomach

When the gap between dreams and reality feels unbearable ...

I want to share something vulnerable with you today.

I was thinking back to a time in my life when looking at my 25-year vision document made me physically ill. Not the kind of butterflies you get from excitement, but the heavy, nauseating weight of seeing a dream that felt impossibly far away.

I had created this vision - something so precious and meaningful that I could almost reach out and touch it. I remember that electric moment when I first wrote it down, when I allowed myself to dream bigger than I ever had before. The possibilities felt endless.

But then reality crashed in.

Client projects got complicated.

Launch numbers disappointed.

Family needs arose.

The daily grind of running a business started to wear me down. And slowly, that bright vision began to feel more like a mockery than a source of inspiration.

So I did what felt safest in the moment - I hid it away. It sat buried in a folder on my computer, gathering digital dust. My carefully crafted 90-day plans went untouched. The weekly reviews became sporadic, then stopped altogether.

Not because I didn't know how to do these things. Not because I didn't understand their importance.

But because each time I looked at them, they reminded me of the growing gap between my dreams and my reality.

And that gap?

It felt like it was full of shame, self-doubt, and a peculiar kind of self-created suffering that's almost impossible to describe to anyone who hasn't experienced it.

I wanted to scream.

I wanted to find someone - anyone - to blame.

But when I looked in the mirror, I knew exactly where the responsibility lay.

And that realization? It felt like its own special kind of hell.

It was being trapped in a prison of my own making - caught between the person I knew I could become and the person I saw in the mirror.

If you're nodding along right now, feeling that knot in your stomach because these words are hitting too close to home, I want you to know something...

Here's what I discovered during that dark time: The problem wasn't my vision. The problem wasn't even the gap between where I was and where I wanted to be.

The problem was that I had lost connection with something fundamental - my own inner compass.

I was so focused on the external measures of what success should look and feel like, so caught up in the "how" of making it all happen right now, that I had forgotten the most basic truth:

Everything is connected.

Your business isn't separate from your wellbeing.

Your vision isn't separate from your daily actions.

And most importantly, your worth isn't measured by how quickly you close the gap between today and your dreams.

The way forward started with a simple shift:

Instead of trying to force myself to look at the entire 25-year vision (which felt overwhelming), I began to ask myself one question each morning:

"What's the one small thing I could do today that would make me feel more aligned with who I want to become?"

Sometimes it was as simple as taking a 10-minute walk to clear my head.

Other times it meant having that difficult conversation I'd been avoiding. Or spending an hour in deep work on the project that actually mattered, rather than busying myself with endless administrative tasks.

The magic wasn't in the size of the actions - it was in reconnecting with my own inner guidance system.

This wasn't about creating more pressure or adding another "should" to my list. It was about remembering that transformation doesn't happen in giant leaps.

It happens in small moments of choosing to trust ourselves again.

Over time, I found myself naturally wanting to look at my vision again. Not because I had to, but because I had rebuilt trust with myself through these small, consistent actions.

The gap didn't magically disappear. But it stopped feeling like an accusation and started feeling more like an invitation - an invitation to grow at a pace that felt true to me.

If you're in that dark place right now where your vision feels more like a burden than an inspiration, I want you to know that it's okay. It's a normal part of the entrepreneurial journey that nobody talks about.

And more importantly, there is a way through.

It starts with being gentle with yourself. With understanding that your vision isn't meant to be a weapon you use against yourself, but a north star that helps guide you home to who you really are.

Late, I can share more about the specific practices that helped me rebuild this connection. But for now, I invite you to ask yourself that same simple question:

"What's one small thing I could do today that would make me feel more aligned with who I want to become?"

Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life.

With Love,

Phil

P.S. If this resonated with you, I'd love to hear your thoughts. What's your experience with the gap between vision and reality?

Comment and let me know.

P.P.S. If you're feeling called to transform your own planning practices and join a supportive community of conscious entrepreneurs, I invite you to join the waitlist for our next Sacred Business Planning Rituals Challenge.

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