What is a personal vision statement?
A personal vision statement is the road map that guides us to the destination we have set for ourselves. Just like a road map it helps us see further into the future than we could with our own eyes. For example, to drive from Calgary to New York is in the vicinity of 4,000km, depending on the route. This is too far to see, but very easy to navigate with a road map. And think about it, if you know where you want to go, but don’t have a road map, you could still find your way, so long as you knew which general direction to start driving.
Why should we create a personal vision statement?
The clearer the vision, the more likely we are to stay on course and achieve the goals we have set. It’s so easy to become side-tracked every day. We become side-tracked because we lack the vision to stay focused on the essential tasks that will make us successful.
Starting with a vision of where we want to go and determining the goals we need to hit along the way will ensure we not only have a destination, but a route planned out as well. The goals often times are like the sign-post on the way to our vision.
How do I create a personal vision statement?
There are a number of different ways. You can create a vision board filled with pictures of what you want in your life. You can write a paragraph or two describing your life in the vision. It could be a combination of both.
To brainstorm ideas you could start by writing a list of values, dreams, desires, personal strengths and work from there. You could ask yourself a series of questions. Answering questions is an effective way to deepen your thought process on something.
Some questions you can ask yourself as you create your personal vision statement:
- What are your values?
- What is your purpose in life?
- How would you like to be described by your friends, relative, coworkers etc? What do you need to do to ensure this is true?
- What do you want to be doing? How do you see your ideal day/week?
- Where are you living? Whom do you see around you?
- What actions do you need to take to make it happen?
- What changes do you want to be a part of? What is your legacy?
- What are the different roles in your life (parent, spouse, worker etc) and how will you evolve in each of them?
When I wrote my personal vision statement earlier this year, it took on a fairly basic format – it answered these questions:
- Where am I now? Why am I here now?
- Where do I want to be? Why do I want to be there?
- How will I get there?
- What must I do, or how do I have to grow to make it happen?
This vision statement needs to be compelling and exciting for you. The best visions are written in the present tense and are not only compelling, but are exciting and convey passion and emotion. The clearer the picture, the easier it will be to see yourself in it.
Once you have your vision written down, make sure you look at it and read it every day. That is how you can stay focused.