In the previous blog entitled Make the Most of the New Year - Design Your Future and Develop a Personal Vision Statement, we explained the importance and benefits of developing a personal vision statement. This blog focuses on how to develop your personal vision statement.  It may seem intimidating to peer into a future three or five years from now and write a vibrant account of your personal and professional life.

This Forbes article offers guidance for this process, “In order to start, you need to reflect on who you are, what matters most to you, your values, goals, desires and more.

When creating your personal vision statement, you want to avoid thinking about limitations. This vision should not be based on what others think or say, how much money you have, what you own or do not own, nor where you’re at today in your professional life.

When writing your vision statement, you don’t need to know how you will achieve your goals or fulfill your personal vision today. These answers will come with time.”

How to write a personal vision statement

In our book, Time To Get Real! we suggest you think in a more vivid fashion about your future. So, let’s say that your life to date is represented as a car driving on a specific road. That road falls behind you. In front of you is the road that you’re going to be traveling in the future. It includes all the choices and decisions you will make as you drive your life forward. When you deploy your life and career plan based on the Life and Career Planning Model© found in our book Time To Get Real!, it becomes the engine to drive you down that road. Farther in the distance there’s a hill that turns into a mountain and at the top of the mountain is your personal vision. That is what things will look like for you when you arrive.

As you write your personal vision statement, consider the following: for your career, note the type of position you will have, type of organization you will be working in, amount of expected compensation and benefits, the culture of the organization in which you will be working, the type of work you will be doing, the kind of relationships you expect to have, the geographic area in which you will work, and so on.  Also include a description of your life/work balance--how you spend the minutes, hours, days of your life at that point. Will you be cultivating your interests? What are they? What aspects of your life will be providing joy? What is the impact of this new stage of your life on your personal mission statement and values? Have there been any changes in your personal relationships and family? What are they? Does your current work position place you on the correct path to achieve your vision? Most importantly, if you imagine yourself stepping back and looking at the personal vision that you are writing now, which describes a time in the future as if you were actually there, would it make you feel satisfied and happy that you have arrived in that place?

This may sound like a daunting task, however, we know a few things from our coaching of individuals in all age groups. First, once you get started you will find it difficult to stop. You will want to know what your future looks like. Second, if you need help, our book Time To Get Real! takes you through the process of developing your vision statement as well as a strategic personal life and career plan. Finally, experienced coaches are here for you and can be your accountability partner.

The road that you are going to travel to your personal vision may not always be straight. It may have side streets down which you are forced to venture. For example, you’re squarely on the road toward your vision and you suddenly lose your job. You may have to take a new position in the short term that takes you off your main path. It may not be the right “next job” for your personal vision. Or illness rather than job loss derails you. No matter what occurs, keep trying to find your way back to your main path. The important thing to keep in mind is that if you know where the road is leading and recognize which events happening in your life will slow you down or move you off your road, you should be able to find your way back. If not, it’s then time to think about developing a new personal vision based upon the changes that have taken place in your life. Remember, your vision statement is a decision-making tool updated for life.

The Underpinning for a strong life and career plan

We find that your personal vision statement along with an understanding of your personal values are the underpinning for a strong life and career plan. Our book Time To Get Real! empowers you to develop both of these important aspects of your life. Should you choose to accept the help provided in our book Time To Get Real!, you will know where you are in your life and career, and by building your personal vision you will know where you want to end up at a specific point in time. The important thing to determine is how you are going to get there. You’re going to get there by having a strong life and career plan and activating it. The actions in the plan will lead to the achievement of your interim goals, which power you to the next stop along the road to your vision.

We recommend that in addition to reading our book Time To Get Real! and working through the Life and Career Planning Model© that it provides, consider some amount of personal coaching that can help you to discern and activate your life’s mission and move you toward the best life and career that you deserve. Our coaching fees and services are flexible and meet a broad array of client financial and coaching needs. All Life and Career Planning LLC coaches are experienced and certified in the Life and Career Planning Model© and serve as your accountability partner. To inquire about working with a coach, click here.