The last time I wrote, I shared a story about my son’s dream. He dreamed that our house had airbags and wheels. He dreamed that transforming our house into a massive moving automobile would allow him to live the life he knew here in Knoxville and live next to his aunt in Oklahoma. My son’s dream reminded me of the importance of visualizing for learning, motivating and staying on track. Since then, I recommitted to taking time out of my day to stop and envision outcomes. But it hasn’t been easy. My son seems to do it effortlessly. Why is it so hard for us to dream?

The first thing to realize is that dreams force us to see perfection. My son’s dream didn’t compromise on the things he wanted. His dream wasn’t a consolation. It was literally the best of the two worlds he wanted. As adults, we become wary of dreaming of perfection, don’t we? It’s risky for one thing. We don’t want to get our hopes up. And it’s just unreasonable. The world isn’t perfect, and we aren’t perfect—we don’t want to be silly. I also tend to feel guilty for being a little bit selfish in my dreams. All these things can prevent us from seeing and envisioning the goals we want to achieve. When you close your eyes, can you still see the perfection you hope for? 

What does perfection look like in a big-picture sense? Let’s take our organization for example. How can we be the perfect form of an institute—in all that it means to be an institute? What does perfection look like in your role, and how does it connect to our organization as a whole? How can we better align our own work to tackle Tennessee’s biggest problems? 

Some say writing your goals down on a piece of paper is the best way to begin achieving them. I would argue that a picture is worth a thousand words. In other words, seeing the goal is a better way. Hopefully, you’ve closed your eyes a few times to envision the best for your customers and Tennessee. If not, would you take a few brief moments if you want now? Best wishes to you as you pursue your goals of serving your community, your family and your clients.