Whether you’re a team manager, small business owner, remote worker, or nine-to-fiver, having a clear vision of success is important. It’s understandable that we can sometimes get caught up in the day-to-day stresses of work, and our focus narrows to getting through the week. But if we want real success, we need to stay connected to a larger vision of what that looks like. Beyond making it through this challenging week, what is it that we’re really striving for, and why? When you have a clear vision, you create more motivation, determination, and inspiration for yourself. Rather than an elusive idea of success, you identify targets to aim for and accomplishments to reach towards. If you’re wondering if your vision needs some attention, here are some key questions to ask yourself:

Do you have defined goals?

Have you mapped out some things you want to achieve this month, this quarter, this year, or even in the next few years? When we have a clear vision for success, our goals develop more naturally. Our vision informs them and gives them a context. Rather than just striving for a concept of success, you give yourself quantifiable achievements to shoot for. If you can picture what success looks like to you, it’s much easier to break that down into individual goals.

Have you zoomed out?

Many of us focus on professional success, but it’s important we’re also able to connect that to a bigger-picture view as well. How does your professional success fit in with your vision for the other areas of your life? Do they align? Have you identified the things that are important to you both in and out of work? If you want to own your own business in the future, for example, have you thought about how that would impact your hobbies, family, and social life? This isn’t about discouraging yourself from striving for greatness. It’s planning ahead to ensure that your vision is realistic and, most importantly, something you’ll actually enjoy when you achieve it.

Does it excite you?

When you think about your vision for success, how do you feel? If your vision doesn’t excite you, it might be time to revisit it. We should feel inspired by and driven towards our vision. We should be able to picture it in our minds and feel the motivation to move towards it. Sometimes we get distracted from our vision by external demands and pressures. Check in from time to time and ensure that your picture of success is really yours. When you can envision a future you’re eager to create, you’re much more likely to actually do so.

Are you flexible?

We need to regularly come back to our vision for success and ensure it’s still fitting. If at some point we lose that clarity, we need to figure out why. Perhaps our lifestyle has changed, maybe we’re no longer inspired by our earlier vision, maybe what we want has changed. These things are natural. We need to be willing to adjust if our vision gets blurry. Bring it back into focus by making the adjustments you need.

Can you envision the life you want to create for yourself? Do you have a picture in your mind of what success looks like? The clearer that image, the better. When you allow that vision to inspire your goals and generate motivation, and you ensure that it fits in with your bigger-picture view, you’re much more likely to bring it into reality.