How I Got Stuck in Vision Mode (and Found My Way Out)

By Andy Wood

 Some days I feel like a visionary with a shovel—always digging, planting, and preparing for a harvest I can’t yet see.

 Workshops designed.

Talks crafted.

Online courses outlined.

Partnerships pursued.

The problem? While I’m sowing generously into tomorrow, today’s weeds are growing out of control.

One day last month was a case in point. I had a string of productive days full of big ideas and strategic moves. But somewhere in the middle of the inspiration surge, I forgot to move some money in my bank accounts. The result? A business account in the red and a facepalm moment that had me muttering words unprintable in a devotional.

Let’s just say… it wasn’t my finest hour.

But it was a wake-up call.

I’ve noticed a pattern—not just in myself but in the leaders and entrepreneurs I coach. We get so focused on building the next thing that we lose sight of the now thing. We fall in love with potential and quietly resent the mundane. We dream about “scale” while ignoring the unopened emails, the ungraded papers, the unpaid invoices.

It’s not a time problem. It’s a stewardship problem.

And here’s what I’m learning (again) on the road from procrastination to progress: 

1. The Future Is Built on Today’s Faithfulness

I’m a card-carrying magical thinker, and it’s easy to romanticize the future. It’s harder to reconcile receipts. But the future doesn’t just happen—it’s constructed, hour by hour, with attention to detail and presence of mind. Dreaming is not an excuse to delay action.

If God is going to bless the harvest, I’ve got to be faithful in the planting and the watering and the weeding.

2. Vision Without Execution Is Just a Vibe

Ideas don’t move the needle—execution does. I have whiteboards full of vision and journals packed with insight. But if I don’t write the ad, run the card, make the call, or post the follow-up, it’s just noise in my own head.

Sometimes procrastination isn’t about laziness—it’s about avoiding the emotional discomfort of the boring but necessary. (If the word “taxes” just flashed across your consciousness, we may be kin.)

3. Every Day Is a Stewardship Test

Will I steward today’s money—even if it’s less than I want?

Will I steward today’s time—even if it’s fragmented and disrupted?

Will I steward today’s relationships—even if they don’t feel urgent?

When Jesus fed the 5,000, the miracle began when they took what they had—not what they hoped for—and put it in His hands.

4. Embrace the Pivot

Last week I gave myself what I call the “24-Hour Rule.” After a frustrating day of financial chaos, self-disappointment, and scheduling breakdowns, I gave myself 24 hours to grieve it, fix what I could, and then move forward. No wallowing. No self-pity. Just a pivot.

Procrastination thrives in self-condemnation. Progress begins when you forgive yourself and take the next right step.

5. Sow in Both Directions

Here’s what I’m working toward now: tending both fields. I still believe in sowing for the future—strategic moves, content development, dream-building. But I’m also re-learning to be present and precise in the here and now. Checking balances. Confirming meetings. Following up with clients. Stewarding time as if it were sacred.

Because it is.

Final Thought:

You don’t have to choose between dreaming big and executing small. The sweet spot is found in the tension between the two. One foot in the clouds, the other firmly on the ground.

So if you’re like me and find yourself tripping over the urgent while chasing the important, take a breath. Come back to center. Pick up the phone. Reconcile the account. Return the message.

The harvest is coming. But the field still needs tending today.

 Andy Wood is an executive coach, business strategist, and founder of The LifeVesting Group. He helps leaders, business owners, and teams turn clarity into momentum—without losing their soul in the process. When he’s not coaching or speaking, he’s likely journaling over coffee, wrangling Goldendoodle puppies, or learning something new the hard way. You can reach him at andy@lifevesting.com or here on LinkedIn.