Why should I write a personal vision statement?
Writing a personal Vision Statement is one of the most important things you can do when working on personal growth goals. It can also help provide clarity for the future and it gives you a clear vision of what you want to accomplish. One more really good reason to write a personal vision statement is that we tend to accomplish our plans, goals and dreams when we put them in writing.
What is a personal vision statement?
Basically a personal vision statement is the first step in focusing on your life and accomplishing your life goals. Your vision statement can be a sentence or two about how you want to live your life.
Simply put, a vision statement is the lighthouse light that guides your ship in the night.
How do I get started?
There are a couple of ways you can get started crafting your personal vision statement. One of the best and probably the easiest way is through your journal. If you’ve been journaling for a while, you can take a look back through your journal to look for thoughts, feelings, behaviors or values that are important to you.
If you haven’t started a journal, I would highly recommend starting one today. A vision journal will be extremely beneficial whether you’re working on life goals or simply using it as a way to start or end your day in gratitude.
Begin by asking yourself a few questions: And be honest with yourself when answering
- What are your top five values?
- What 5 things do you enjoy doing and can’t imagine never doing them again?
- If money wasn’t an issue and you never had to work another day in your life, what would you spend your time doing?
- What things would you regret not achieving, seeing or doing, if today your life was ending?
- What strengths do you possess that other people have commented on, and how has that impacted your achievements?
- What opportunities do you struggle with that other people have commented on, and how has that impacted your achievements?
Once you have thoughtfully written out the answers to the questions above, review the goals you set for each of the life categories from “How do I make big things happen?” post. Take your time reviewing your goals and answers to the questions above. Remember to take note of any recurring thoughts or words that come up during your review.
A few things to remember as you begin to write your personal vision statement.
We are conditioned to make decisions based on limited options, so when you work from unlimited options it’s going to feel uncomfortable. Visualization is something most of us stopped doing as children. It is however, like a muscle and the more we visualize the better we get at using our imaginations.
Most of us are afraid we may not succeed, we are used to staying small because there is safety in not growing. So having these unlimited options may bring up a good amount of fear. Don’t get caught up in making it perfect. In all actuality, your vision statement will most likely change over time as your vision for your future changes and grows.
Now it’s time to write your personal vision statement
As you begin to write, remember to write in first person and charge yourself with the fact that you are the one making the decisions regarding your future life. Write the statements as if you are already making them happen in your life. The more detailed your vision statement is the more you can visualize it coming to fruition.
Feel free to contact me if you get stuck.