How to Create a Personal Vision Statement for Your Life

How to Create a Personal Vision Statement for Your LifeHow to Create a Personal Vision Statement for Your LifeYour personal imagination statement guides your life and provides the direction necessary to chart the course of your days and the choices you make about your career. Think of your personal vision statement as the light shining in the darkness that illuminates your life path. Write a vision statement as the first step in focusing your life. It can help put things into perspective- your joy, your accomplishments, your contribution to the world, your glory, and your legacy. Prepare to Draft Your Vision Statement The preparation for drafting your own vision statement involves lots of thought, introspection, and reflection. It can take time to formulate all your thoughts cohesively. To get started, ask yourself some guiding questions. Be honest. Your answers can help you clearly illustrate your vision. Questions to Ask Yourself What are 10 things that you most enjoy doing ? These are the 10 things without which your weeks, months, and years would feel incomplete.What three things must you do every single day to feel fulfilled in your work?What are your five to sixmost important values?Write one important goal for each of the following facets of your life physical, spiritual, work or career, family, social relationships, financial security, mental improvement and attention, and fun.If you never had to work abedrngnisher day in your life, how would you spend your time instead of working? When your life is ending, what will you regret not doing, seeing, or achieving?What strengths have other people commented on about you and your accomplishments?What strengths do you see in yourself?What weaknesses have other people commented on about you and what do you believe are your weaknesses? You can explore additional thoughtful questionsthat may alsoprovide the opportunity for introspection. Develop Your Vision Statement Once you have thoughtfully prepared answers to these questions and others that you have identified as significant, you are ready to craft a personal vision statement. Write in thefirst person and make statements about the future you hope to achieve. Write the statements as if you are already making them happen in your life. Some experts recommend 50 words or less, but forget word counts and fully articulate the vision that you want for your life and your future. The mora detailed you make your image, the better you can see it in your minds eye. According to motivational speaker and writer Brian Tracy, you generally accomplish your written goals, dreams, plans, and visions. Writing down written goals lends power and commitment to their accomplishment. Keep in mind that your personal vision statement can also change over time, depending on what is happening in your life. You might be amazed at how many components remain consistent over time. When people live and experience the components of their personal vision frequen tly, they can feel inner peace and joy that knows no bounds. Your personal vision statement can have the same impact on you. Envision Your Ideal Life Theresa Quadrozzi, a certified life coach, suggests that you should think about how you would want your life to be- no holds barred. One of the first exercises I do with clients is to have them envision their ideallife,as if money was nooption, as if a fairy godmother granted their every wish and they woke up in the morning to find that theyve all come true. This helps shift them out of a fear-based, conditioned world, out of pessimism and intopossibilities, into what could be. Quadrozzi claims that people fail to live fulfilling lives because they are pulled down by the negative factors they see around them, like economic downturns and uncertainty in their work life. Meanwhile, in reality, there are endless possibilities up for grabs with the world constantly innovating and creating new opportunities. As Quadrozzi suggests, What w ould you like to do? What does the world need? What difference are you going to make? Use your talents. Make your own reality. You can live all your days as if they are the fulfillment of your hopes and dreams- because you use every day to accomplish some of them. Recognize the significance of this commitment to you and your life. To quote the late American televangelist and motivational speakerRobert H. Schuller, What would you do if you knew you couldnt fail? Repeat, what would you do if you knew you couldnt fail? One more time, what would you do if you knew you couldnt fail?