Do you have a personal vision statement?
Yes? Fantastic! Congratulations because that means you are running towards something. If you do not have a Personal Vision Statement, my question to you is, “are you running away from something?”
What do I mean by that? Think about it: when you make a decision, what motivates you? Is it to achieve something or avoid something? For example, are you trying to achieve wealth, fame, comfort, connection, love? Or are you trying to avoid poverty, insignificance, hardship, being alone, rejection?
Let me now explain why a Personal Vision Statement is so important to live your best life: it will provide you with 1) focus, 2) discernment to make good decisions, and 3) meaning and purpose.
So let’s begin with the first point: how does a Personal Vision Statement helps with focus? To answer that question, let me ask another question: do you start a road trip without knowing where you want to go? I’m guessing no. When you enter the destination in your GPS, what does it give you? A map, right? And a path to your destination. It tells you the shortest distance to get there, maybe the shortest time, scenic route … but no matter HOW you get there, it WILL get you there, correct? In the same way, a Personal Vision Statement will help you know your life’s destination. Do you want a larger family? A small one? Be independently wealthy? Live alone in the woods? What industry do you want to work in, etc?
Conversely, what happens when you go on a road trip without a destination? I don't know about you, but I make decisions based on what appeals to me the moment - not based on what is right for me in the long term. My decisions are more random based on how I feel in the moment. For example, I more easily turn onto roads that are lined with trees and visually pleasing but oftentimes, many of them lead me to dead ends or further away from home. In the same way, when you don’t have a Personal Vision Statement, the same can happen to you. It is too easy to be led astray because we are too easily enticed by the newest and greatest "bing”.
My second point is a Personal Vision Statement helps us make good decisions. When we are clear on where we want to go, it helps us make the right decisions in the present moment rather than taking the easy or the most urgent ones. For example, using the road analogy again, let’s say my destination is north of my current location but I don’t have a GPS. Now, I personally like driving on scenic roads and I generally stay away from highways. But the road that looks beautifully scenic that I want to go on does NOT go north. And the highway that I DON’T want to go on DOES! So what do I do? I take the highway for obvious reasons. Now, that is a simple and clear illustration but I think it makes my point.
Let me be clear: having a Personal Vision Statement does not mean we will always make good decisions. We WILL make mistakes but, oftentimes, those mistakes become learning lessons on what we don’t want to do to arrive at our destination. In other words, we discern more quickly what the right decision is for us. For example, again returning to the driving apology - I know where I want to go but I have no GPS and start driving. I know my destination is north of where I currently am but I don’t know the roads that will lead me there. So I simply turn on a road that appears to be going north. But it bends after two minutes of driving and I quickly see it is taking me away from where I want to go. So when I realize this, I turn around and go on a different road knowing now which road NOT to take.
My third and final point is this: Personal Vision Statements help us live with meaning and purpose. Isn’t it true that human beings are happier when we feel there is meaning to our lives? I know I do. There is a saying that goes, “Where there is no vision, people perish”. Why is that? Because humans are wired to live. Isn’t it true that when we think our lives have no meaning, we become lethargic and listless? It is hard to get up in the morning, and it is a challenge to just get through another day, right? But when we have a Personal Vision Statement, it gives meaning to what we do today.
To underscore this third point, human beings are also more satisfied with life when we think our lives have purpose. A Personal Vision Statement is important because it naturally causes us to identify goals or milestones and when we achieve our goals, it feels really satisfying, doesn't it? An expanded personal vision statement can include strategies that include goal setting which I will cover in another blog but for the purposes of this one, let me just say that setting goals and achieving them helps motivate us towards our vision.
To summarize, a personal vision statement will give us focus or direction, help us make right decisions, and will help us feel there is meaning and purpose to everything we do.
Whether you are young, old, or somewhere in between, if you do not have a Personal Vision Statement, make one today. I encourage you to scratch one down right now! It might take several iterations to figure out what your vision is for your future but it will be a meaningful exercise that will re-energize and excite you for your future!
Stop Running Away but Begin Running Towards Your Best Future. Write Your Personal Vision Statement Today
If you need help to get started, inquire about a Free Discovery Session today.
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