1: Dream Vision: Where do we want to go?

Every journey starts with a dream. Dreams are big but also disappear when we wake up.

Put a big red sun circle at the top right of the paper. We are reaching upwards for the light of the Sun.

The vision contains the parts of the dream that we think are almost possible if we work hard for them. These can be as far in the future as we want. But the vision must be big enough to inspire us to get up in the morning when life is difficult.

Draw elements of our vision inside the sun circle.

In the top left corner we can put also your name, group/organisation and date. We could think of personal symbols, or write this information.

2: Current Situation: Where are we now?

Before we start on the journey we need to understand where we are now. We reflect on our current situation in relation to the vision.

Draw symbols inside a black circle at the bottom left of the paper. Think carefully. These symbols should be a concrete assessment of where our life is now for each of the elements in our vision. Not just a vague symbol for unhappiness.

Join the two circles with two black lines for the road. We start by assuming the road will go ever upwards towards the sun.

3: Opportunities and Challenges: what will help or hinder us?

Opportunities: Draw 10+ opportunities top of the road in green as things you plan to make happen. The more potential opportunities you identify the more likely you are to succeed and keep positive.

Challenges: Draw challenges underneath the road in blue as things you want to perish. Do a detailed but realistic risk analysis so that you can address or avoid them.

Analysis: Things more controllable (individual strengths and weaknesses) go closer to the road. Things that cannot be controlled (contextual opportunities and threats) go further from the road.

Balance the road: finally identify new opportunities so that opportunities still are more than risks. Or possibly abort plan. DO NOT RUSH. IT IS IMPORTANT TO TAKE TIME ON THIS STEP.

4: Target and Milestones: Practical progress to track

Vision Journeys have a medium term ‘SMART’ target as a thick green circle placed next to the vision to make the plan concrete. A ‘SMART’ target means: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timebound. The time-frame could be whatever time period makes sense for your vision eg one year, a key festival, harvest, next workshop etc.

Two to four milestone intermediate targets are then placed as thinner green circles on the way. The first milestone should be after 1 month so that action starts immediately. The other milestones can be equal distance, or specific times depending on eg agricultural calendar or a project monitoring event. Put circles and planned progress in green.

5: Action Plan: Practical strategies to track

What actions are needed to go from target to target? We put drawings in green for all the things we plan to do:

• to take advantage of our opportunities
• to avoid or address our challenges
• to achieve the things we have put in each milestone.

6: Track and reflect: Our plan for life

Vision Journeys are ‘living plans’. They are part of our lives, not just forgotten getting dusty in a cupboard. We periodically track progress over time, and reflect on reasons for progress or lack of progress.

• Things achieved (milestones, actions, opportunities, challenges) we ring in red as ripe fruits.
• Things that did not work/we no longer want, we ring or cross out in blue as perished mouldy fruits.
• Things that are still in process and still planned we ring in green. We can add any new plans/opportunities in green. We can add any new challenges in blue.

The tool, and also your experiences are also shared with other people to exchange experience of which strategies work and which do not.

7: Share: we cannot walk alone

If our visions are big, we cannot achieve them alone. We need to work with other like-minded people and also negotiate with those who may not immediately agree with us.

So we draw the key steps of the tool at the back of our notebook to share the steps of the Vision Journey to help other people also progress in life. Something like the example – both don’t forget 10 opportunities and 10 challenges

We practice and extend the network of people with whom we share. When others are empowered to clarify and work towards their vision, then we can also share ideas and experience of strategies that work and avoid strategies that do not.

We can also write songs, poems and theatre to help spread the tool and increase the feeling of solidarity with others.