Why only focusing on your vision is keeping you stuck

When your dream goal feels exciting on paper but exhausting in your body.

I’m writing this while sitting on the sofa in our living room, still a bit tired and sweating.

I just came back from an interval training session for my half-marathon prep on the 29th in Venlo NL.

Today was a tough one traing: Interall meaning: 6 x 800 m in a fast sprint pace.

And now I am relaxing with my laptop on my knees.

But back to the topic: Why only focusing on your vision is keeping you stuck.

See, as a runner and an entrepreneur, I know first hand how dangerous it is to stare at your big vision while you’re actually in the work or training for it.

I know what you might be thinking and what you migh have learned before (I mean this 10x Goals... etc.)

“But I learned to step into my future.

To feel my vision.
To act from there, not from my current reality.”

Honestly? That can be complete bullshit if you don’t understand what it does to your nervous system.

From a nervous system point of view, this “always in the vision” thing can be like slamming the red button over and over again.

You write down your vision:
“I want to make 1M USD a year.”
“I want to run my half-marathon in 1:40:00.” Well, right now my target is 1:55:00 - so 1:40:00 would be a dream :-))

In that moment, it feels amazing.

The big goal. The identity upgrade. The future you.
You get a sweet dopamine hit and it feels so good.

But here’s the problem:

The second you go back to doing the work—writing content, serving clients, sending emails, or doing those 800 m intervals—you are very obviously not at that vision yet.

Of course you’re not. It’s a vision. A dream. That’s the whole point.

And that is exactly what triggers your system.

Because when you force yourself to “feel into the vision” all the time, while a part of you knows very clearly you’re not there yet, your subconscious is constantly sending you a little message:

“Sure, dream as often as you want.
But honestly? We’re not there. Not even close.”

That creates a sense of unsafety.

No matter how many visualisations you do, how many affirmations you repeat, your body feels the gap.
What you’re actually doing, subconsciously, is checking over and over again:

“Am I there yet?
What about now?
Now?
Now?”

You’re not focusing on the path.
You’re obsessing over the gap.

And that gap focus is what ramps up your nervous system.

In running, if I were to think about my finish time the whole interval session, I’d probably tense up, over-push, and blow up halfway through.

What actually gets me through the workout is staying with my breath, my stride, this interval, this recovery. The presence.

It’s the same in business.

What actually counts is the present.
The now.

How your body feels when you sit down to write that email.
How your system responds when you hop on a sales call.
How your nervous system feels when you open your Stripe account, your calendar, your to-do list.

If your vision lives miles ahead of you, and your body feels unsafe every time you compare “there” with “here,” you don’t have a motivation problem.
You have a mismatch between how you’re using your vision and what your nervous system can actually hold.

The vision isn’t the enemy.
The constant comparison is.

So instead of forcing yourself to live in a future that keeps your nervous system in a panic loop, try this question:

“How can I make this next step feel grounded, doable, and safe in my body?”

That’s where real momentum starts: not in the fantasy, but in the way you inhabit the very next breath, rep, email, interval, or conversation.

So, this is what I then call progress.

In Love,

Markus

PS. And this is how I reduced my estimated half-marathon time from 2:12:00 downto 1:58:00 in the last three weeks.

PPS. And of course my vision is to make 1M USD / year and to run the half-marathon in under 1:40:00 - and I am enjoying every step on the path