Look is a verb which refers to the act of turning our eyes in a particular direction to see something or someone external. It also refers to search something. As a noun look refers to the act of looking or an expression, appearance style or fashion. Outlook is a whole lot different, and it refers to a person’s point of view or general attitude. It is about how a person thinks. It can be an attitude, a conviction, an expectation, an observation, a viewpoint, or a perception, based on a person’s state of mind and knowledge
When you look at an object or an idea you see the object or perceive the idea. When you analyse it, you develop an outlook based on your analysis and visualisation. Your analysis and visualisation are based on your knowledge and your experiences about that object or idea.
It was a ritual in our home that everyone recited the Twenty-third Psalm at the end of the morning and evening prayer. This Psalm is applicable to one and all, irrespective of one’s religion and it reaffirms one’s faith in their God. The Twenty-third Psalm begins with The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. In the Malayalam version which we recited as children, the “I shall not want” part was translated as എനിക്കു മുട്ടുണ്ടാകുകയില്ല (enikku muttundakukayilla), and I always looked at my knees after reciting it, as it literally translated in any child’s mind as I will not have my knees. This of course corresponds to the knowledge and experience of a child.
As you grow and gain knowledge, your outlook towards the very same object/idea/notion changes. You interpret what you see differently now, and you analyse it further.
As I grew older, I realised that without the wants humanity would have never progressed and developed to its current evolved stature.
Then comes vision which in the simplest form is an act or power of seeing. Many use vision and outlook interchangeably. In a literal or management sense vision is far different. Vision is generally a long-term, aspirational goal or desired future state, focussed on a distant future whereas outlook describes a current perspective or attitude towards a situation, often with a focus on the near future and potential outcomes.
- Vision entails a more ambitious and idealistic picture of what could be, whereas outlook is a more practical assessment of what is likely to happen based on current conditions.
- Vision is a guiding principle that inspires action towards a long-term goal, while outlook is a mindset or perspective with or without any specific actions.
- Vision is generally detailed and specific about the desired future state, while an outlook is more about potential possibilities.
Two decades ago, after migrating to Toronto, Canada, the meaning of the second and third lines of the Psalm became clear one evening while walking along the shores of Lake Ontario, as my mind wandered off trying to connect the distant past with an uncertain future – He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul, He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
Now let us throw in the differences between mission and vision. Vision is an organisation’s/ individual’s aspirational future state, outlining what he/it wants to be, while a mission defines the individual’s or organisation’s current purpose. Mission is how it plans to achieve its goals, focusing on the present actions taken to reach that future vision. Vision is where you want to be, and a mission is what you are doing now to get there.
In short, your mission is what you are doing right now, while your vision is what you hope to achieve in the future. A visionary is one who can foresee a desirable end state and work towards it.
We have yet another term in this thought process, that of Purpose. Purpose is the fundamental reason why you exist or do something, explaining your motivation and the core value behind your actions. Vision is what you want to achieve, while purpose is why you want to achieve it.
As a young Captain of the Indian Army, in 1987 I was deployed along the Line of Control (LOC) in Kashmir Valley where both Indian and Pakistani armies were positioned face-to-face, with our posts as close as 50 yards from the enemy. At that time, my mission, along with our soldiers, was to protect our motherland from enemy aggression.
On a bright sunny day, as I sat on top of the bunker basking in the sun and having my breakfast, the next two verses of the psalm crossed my mind – Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
If you have purpose in life, it keeps you focused. It pushes an organisation or individual to focus on action. It reminds you why you are part of that organisation. This helps everyone in that organisation to connect their personal purpose to that of its leader.
Today, I live by remembering the last line of the Psalm – Surely Your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
You may wonder why are we indulging in this semantic exercise of trying to understand the specific meaning associated with some of these esoteric terms mostly related to management? No, its not exactly a semantic exercise. As each of us grow and evolve hopefully into a better human being, we need to identify our own notion of happiness and the purpose of our existence. This depends entirely on our outlook. This of course is our changing attitude to life as we grow and evolve. Most people identify such purpose work towards it in a haphazard manner and they may or may not be able to measure how close they are to achieving it. But happiness is a still a state of mind and they may be happy/unhappy irrespective of how close they are to their purpose.
An organised person, however, after identification of purpose goes about setting a future vision, and periodic/ intermittent missions to pursue and achieve. But even in the case of the organised man happiness may just be a state of mind, an attitude unrelated to attainment of purpose. So a clear understanding of these terms helps each of us in developing our own philosophic moorings but that is not to say that as individuals we need to be like corporate. For corporate purpose /vision/ mission are vital to their very existence. For individuals, they may not be essential depending on one’s outlook. Some may argue that a right attitude, an outlook is just about enough to be happy.
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