Make the Most of the New Year - How to Develop a Personal Vision Statement

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.

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.

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.

Our book is rated 4.5 stars on Amazon. Click here to buy the book.

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.

Who is Generation Z?

In the workforce in the United States today, as well as in other developed countries around the world, there are five specific age groups. There are significant differences in how these five age groups perceive themselves, and there are specific differences in how they would like to be treated in communication, supervision, and the working environment. In our book Time To Get Real!, the chapter entitled “Crossing Age Groups and Cultures” provides an overview of these differences. Much has been written about Traditionalists (1928-1945), Baby Boomers (1946-1964), Generation X (1965-1980), and the Millennials (1981-1998). It is more recently that the characteristics of Generation Z (1999 to present) are coming sharply into focus.

Core characteristics of Generation Z

In this blog, we will learn more about these newcomers to the workforce. According to an article by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, “One of the core characteristics of Generation Z is racial diversity. For many Gen Z-ers, the backdrop of their early years included the country’s first Black president and the legalization of gay marriage. They are more likely to have grown up amid diverse family structures — whether in a single-parent household, a multi-racial household, or a household in which gender roles were blurred. As a result, they are less fazed than previous generations by differences in race, sexual orientation or religion.”

One of the core characteristics of Generation Z is racial diversity.

The article explains, “Another characteristic of Generation Z is their native use of technology. Whereas Millennials were considered “digital pioneers,” who bore witness to the explosion of technology and social media, Gen Z was born into a world of peak technological innovation — where information was immediately accessible and social media increasingly ubiquitous.”

In addition, the article describes their purchasing behavior. “As consumers, Gen Z’s behavior reflects their values — and the influence of an increasingly digital world. Gen Z kids can rely on their tech-savvy and extensive social networks to make informed purchasing decisions. Their pragmatism leads them to explore and evaluate a range of options before settling on a product. In addition, they are more likely to be swayed by the recommendations of real-life users than by celebrity endorsements.”

Understanding generational differences

In your life and career, you will come into contact with many individuals, and increasingly with members of the Gen Z group, who may not view life in the same way you do. You, as does everyone, belong to a specific age group that has distinct characteristics--many, but not all, of which you may embody yourself. It is helpful when developing and deploying your life and career plan to understand the generational differences among groups of people.

To buy the book, click here.
Our book is rated 4.5 stars on Amazon.

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 as you read each chapter of the book and capture your thoughts in the interactive exercises. To inquire about working with a coach, click here.

Getting Real with Myself

As a child, one of the most common questions you are asked is, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Now, I completely understand the good intent behind this question, we want kids to dream and learn and imagine all of the possibilities for their lives. As a child, your view of the world is quite narrow, you only know what you can see or what you are taught. Because of this, doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers, police officers, firefighters are all popular choices in an elementary school career day. None of these things seemed like they were for me, and I always felt uneasy about having a specific career be such a central focus from such a young age. Everything felt like it was about what are we going to do now to reach that goal. The focus was always on what you could do, what transferrable skills do you have. Honestly, this approach led me to believe there was something wrong with me. I couldn’t think of a job I wanted to do; I just knew that I wanted to do something to make a difference in people’s lives. What that was, I had no clue, and because my ideas were so abstract, I assumed they didn’t count. I continued on to high school and college, never really sure of my path, but just following the steps everyone else did, hoping I’d figure it out eventually.

I wasn’t completely aimless. I had some general ideas about what I cared about, but I struggled to ascertain what any of it meant. As the years went on, I went from high school to a very choppy college experience, always thinking that if I found the right school, the right program, the right community that I would figure out what I was supposed to do. I had a handful of very valuable experiences, but nothing that ever led anywhere I deemed as ‘real.’ Perhaps I would have if I was focusing on who I wanted to become rather than what I was going to do.

“As the years went on, I went from high school to a very choppy college experience, always thinking that if I found the right school, the right program, the right community that I would figure out what I was supposed to do.”

I wanted a different life

Fast forward past college, my search continued. This call center job, that marketing job, a human resources position, I tried to no avail, but everything felt off. I felt like I was just going through the motions, I was good at my work, but it never filled me up, and because I never felt fulfilled, I wasn’t bringing my best self to the table. I couldn’t access her when I was doing these jobs because these jobs weren’t bringing me closer to who I wanted to be. I didn’t want to just go to work for 40 hours a week to check a box, but I figured this was just what is supposed to happen when you grow up.

When we found ourselves in the middle of a pandemic, everyone seemed to be asking more questions of themselves. When we saw in such a stark way, just how precious life is, it caused me to pause and consider whether just putting my life on autopilot was my only option. I felt like I had tried so many things and none of them fulfilled me in the way that I was hoping. I kept thinking there had to be something more, and during this time I began interrogating my own thoughts and choices. I was presented with the opportunity to go through the Life and Career Planning model.

I will be completely honest; when I first saw what it entailed, my anxiety went through the roof. I was not used to putting my ideas for my future on paper because I honestly didn’t really have any idea what I wanted my future to look like, and that was terrifying. As I worked through the model, I became a different kind of scared. I had now put out into the world what I dreamt, and I could no longer hide from it or claim that I didn’t know what I wanted or that the things I imagined for myself weren’t even in the realm of possibility.

Changing the way I see myself

Each step built on the ones before it, and as I worked my way through, I began to see how connected everything in my life was. It helped me to identify things that truly matter to me and how I can best make an impact on the world. I have never felt comfortable with defining myself by a job title or what I do. I am also uncomfortable with creating a vision of who I want to be, but it’s the kind of discomfort that forces action. It’s a pretty powerful thing to take back your identity from what you believe you should be and focus more on who you want to be, what are your values, what brings you joy, how you relate to others. This model has changed the way I see myself.

“Each step built on the ones before it, and as I worked my way through, I began to see how connected everything in my life was. ”

I was daunted by the first chapter asking about interests, thinking I had none, but I soon learned that was far from true. I didn’t think the other things about me mattered until I figured out what the heck I wanted to do with my life. What I hadn’t realized was that those were the things about me that were going to help reveal my purpose. It also helped me to identify areas for development. As I worked through this model, I began to realize that my confidence was the biggest thing that was holding me back. The model forced me to write down and talk about my strengths and weaknesses in a way I had feared in the past. I have been learning to become less timid about what I have to offer. I may not have the experience that I had anticipated having at this point in my life, but I have had life experiences that have helped me become the person I need to be for what comes next. I am not a robot who can be automated to do specific tasks, and that is okay, processes can be learned.

Being less afraid of what comes next

When it came time to put it all together in my action plan, one thing was clear-- if I had taken this type of approach to my life when I was younger, I may not have spent as much time jumping around and feeling like there was something wrong with me. Rather than blaming myself for time lost, I decided I could leverage those experiences to help others through similar uncertainties. I began brainstorming ways that I could do this and decided that my action plan would include steps to reach young people who are at their own crossroads and help them to be less afraid of what comes next by putting them in the driver’s seat.

Nell Schreck- “Working through this model has not changed who I am, it has revealed who I have always been and given me the confidence to bring that person into the world.”

I am a human being who brings my lived experience to take a holistic view of situations, connects with empathy, acts with integrity, and is guided by purpose. As Glinda, the good witch says in The Wizard of Oz, “You’ve had the power all along my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself.” Working through this model has not changed who I am, it has revealed who I have always been and given me the confidence to bring that person into the world.

Guest blog by Nell Schreck, Director of Operations, Legacy Teams

Nell has always been involved in supporting the growth of people. Her strengths in communications and social media have allowed her to connect at all levels within businesses. She is a graduate of Temple University with a degree in Broadcasting and Communications. She also spent time at The Washington Center in DC where she did investigative reporting. Nell has a natural ability to ask the right questions and diagnose critical needs. Her attention to detail and passion for bringing people together makes her a great asset to Legacy Teams.

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