A vision is not just a picture of what could be;
it is an appeal to our better selves, a call to become something more.
~ Rosabeth Moss Kanter
As stated in the previous post, https://carolbrusegar.com/personal-vision-statement-part-1/ , this is a perfect time to create a new Personal Vision Statement. We are still experiencing the effects and after-effects of the pandemic. After all the interruptions and dislocations of the past few years, creating a fresh one can be an energizing process.
Before we get started on the step-by-step process for doing this, I urge you to go back to that post to review the benefits and examples of statements.
Your Personal Vision Statement will encompass your values, goals, and purpose in life. It may focus on the totality of your life moving forward, or you may want to create a statement that is for a particular segment of your life – like the next 10 years, the time while you have children living at home, your retirement years, etc.
Here we go. Be sure to have a supply of paper and pens to write with and be prepared to spread the process over some days to be most meaningful.
GOALS
- Brainstorm every single thing you’d like to do and to be in your life. No censoring. Take some time with it. Carry the list around with you for a few days and add to it whenever something crosses your mind. Keep going until you feel like it is completed.
- Do some culling of your list. Think through every item you wrote down. Is this something that you want in your heart of hearts? Or is it something you think you want? Or that you think you should want? Cross out the ones in the last 2 categories.
- What’s left is a list of things you really want in your life. Which ones do you most want to accomplish? Some of them are going to exert a stronger pull on you than others. Put a star beside these.
- Now look at compatibility of the items on your list. Some may be contradictory or can’t be accomplished together. There may be some painful choices here — which goals do you want most? Which are you willing to sacrifice in order to get to the others? Mark off the ones that don’t make the cut.
- When you’re done, copy the surviving goals down onto a clean sheet of paper. This is the beginning of your vision statement.
STRENGTHS, SKILLS, WEAKNESSES
The second step in creating your Personal Vision Statement is to make a list of your strengths and skills and decide how they relate to what you want to do with your life.
- Strengths. What are your strengths as a person? Write down everything you can think of. This is another brainstorming session. Don’t judge yourself and don’t hold back because of uncertainty or insecurity.
Are you strong (physically or psychologically)? Stubborn? Independent? Are you a freethinker? Are you good at helping people get along? Are you highly intelligent? Empathic? Incredibly organized? You have a list of strengths just like everyone else. Don’t stop with this list until you feel like you’ve covered them all.
2. Skills. List every skill you can think of that you have, in particular those that are related to the goals you identified in step one. What skills do you currently have that will help you get to those goals? How many of those are good to go and which need work?
- Assessment of strengths and skills needed to reach your goals/intentions. Grab another sheet of paper and go back to your final list of priority goals. What are the strengths a person who reaches each of those goals must possess? Take the goals one at a time and identify strengths needed.
Then make another list of the skills needed to accomplish these goals.
- Identification of weaknesses/things to work on to accomplish your goals. Compare the two lists you’ve create – the one of strengths and skills you already have versus those needed to accomplish all of these goals you want to achieve.
The differences between the two are your weaknesses. These are things you need to work on if you’re going to make all your goals a reality. Circle all these weaknesses.
If you like, you can add working on or developing some or all of these weaknesses to your personal vision statement. You don’t have to do so, but still keep the list handy because you will have to work on these things if you want to reach your goals.
VALUES
Take another sheet of paper and title it “My Values.” What’s the most important thing in the world to you? Your top priority, the thing you work so hard for, the one rule you always follow, the one guideline you use to define everything else in your life.
This may require some thought. Or maybe you know right away what it is. If so, you’re one of the lucky ones.
The answer, when you come up with it, might be simple or it might be complex. It might be the Golden Rule. It could be taking care of your family. Making money is a top value for some people while making a difference is most important to others. Some write a single word, such as “love” or “caring.” To have your vision statement be genuine, make sure your values reflect your innermost self. Dig deep.
Once you have an answer, you’re going to write down your second and third most important values. These might take you a while as well. You might even discover you have two or three on the same level. That’s okay too.
Now write down any other values you hold in high importance. Don’t write down too many; you don’t want to dilute the issue. You’re going to want to include your top value in your vision statement. Depending on your personality, you might want to do your second and third most important and maybe a few others as well.
Putting It All Together – Writing Your Personal Vision Statement
You have the raw materials from what you’ve been writing. It will all come together into a meaningful Personal Vision Statement with your attention and patience.
- Collect what you’ve arrived at on a new sheet of paper. Write down all the things that need to be included in your vision statement: write down your most important goals, any strengths or skills you want to include, and your personal values. These together form the basis of your vision statement.
- Have fun with this step. Allow yourself time – at least as much as you spent combined on the first three steps. Be as creative as possible. Create drafts of your vision statement by playing around with words. Start a sentence with any of the following phrases and write until you have incorporated everything you want to include. Remember, your vision statement may be anywhere from one sentence to a short paragraph long.
Vision Statement Opening Words
“I am…”
“I want…”
“My purpose/mission/vision is…”
“My life will show…”
“To…”
“I will…”
“I won’t…”
Try several of these and play around with them. Come up with four or five draft vision statements. Use active, first-person verbs in all of them. That means you should write as “I [verb]” as much as you can.
Make multiple drafts of vision statements that all start with the same opening words. Add things in and take out other things. Use synonyms and antonyms.
Try different lengths, sentence structures, pacing, and tones. Make drafts that sound as different as possible while still expressing the same core set of beliefs.
How Will You Know When You’re Finished?
How will you know when you’re finished? If you’re extraordinarily lucky or a talented wordsmith, you might be able to come up with the perfect vision statement just from these drafts. If not, keep working on drafts until you get tired of it or frustrated.
Set the task aside for a day or two, then come back and read your drafts again. Circle things that you really like. Mark out things you don’t. The bits and pieces that you like are going to form the core of your final draft.
Start making another set of drafts and this time use only the phrases you’ve circled from your first drafts. Then repeat the process until you’ve formed a personal vision statement that suits you. You’ll know when you’re finished.
Having and using a Personal Vision Statement to provide clarity and inspiration is truly worth the time and energy you put into it. It can result in a pivot in your life, or a clearer view of what you already sense about the direction of your life. Enjoy the process and the outcome!
I’m Carol Brusegar, author, photographer and curator of information. My focus is on gathering and writing on topics that enhance all our lives – regardless of our age. Topics include health and wellness, personal development, innovation and creativity, and a variety of helpful, practical tools and practices. I have a special interest in helping people over 50 years of age to create their 3rd Age – the next stage of their lives – to be the best it can be.
Great Resource For You
Dennis Becker has a publication that can be of great assistance as you begin the process of living out your vision – Unlock Your Ideal Self. He says, “It’s not a magic button, it’s a journey. It’s a journey you’re going to be thrilled to embark on and it’s unlike anything you’ve ever experienced before. Imagine, in just a short time from now you could see some powerful, big changes in your life. Changes that will help you earn more, do better, and find what really makes you happy.” Check it out!
