Illuminate life’s journey with a Personal Vision Statement

By Catherine Munge >>>>>

In the business dictionary a vision statement is an aspirational description of what an organization would like to achieve or accomplish in the mid-term and long-term.  It is intended to serve as a clear guide for choosing current and future courses of action.

While some vision statements are vague, an effective vision statement should:

• Define what a company will and will not do
• Provide direction
• Offer guidance for decision-making
• Help prioritize activities

It is future focused and purpose driven.

So what does that look like for you and me?  To succeed (achieve a worthwhile goal), we must have a vision for our lives.  The vision can be broken down into different areas e.g. Health, Finance, Professional, Parenting etc.  The vision should be clear and have a time frame. If no time frame is set, it is a mere dream not a vision.  Most organizations have 3, 6, 12 months and 5 year vision statements.  I believe this is very applicable to our lives; it is the best way to help track progress and keep us rooted.

My Vision Statement is to be “A positive influence for those God has put in my path, be it at home, work, kids’ school or just with friends”.  For this to be possible I have to be courageous. Courage forces me to take action in areas of my life that I otherwise wouldn’t. For health, I started off by joining a boot camp, something I had never done due to fear of not keeping up.

Somewhere along the path of life, I became timid, complacent and overly tolerant. Courage means reclaiming my voice. I have discovered my not speaking up hurts me more than those around me.  Courage also means taking up new roles in my job that are outside my comfort zone but provide an avenue to engage colleagues and clients. It is the courage to define what makes sense for me during this phase of my life and “No” is becoming a dear friend as well. While not all things are bad, some good things are deterrents to us becoming all we are meant to be.

For a vision statement to work, you have to constantly be aware of it, which means it should be visually present before you.  If you don’t see it, then you have no reference point throughout the year to gauge your performance. The vision acts as a yardstick and keeps you in check.  Place it on a mirror or create a vision board with pictures of what is important to you. Make sure you review it constantly to keep it at the forefront of your mind.

I love this extract from Alice in Wonderland: Alice came to a fork in the road. “Which road do I take?” she asked. “Where do you want to go?” responded the Cheshire Cat. “I don’t know,” Alice answered. “Then,” said the Cat, “It doesn’t matter.” – Lewis Carroll, Alice In Wonderland

Take time to evaluate your life. Are you drifting from one thing to another trying to keep up with others’ expectations of you? Create a vision statement for your life and subsequent activities that will help you get there. Then pursue it, adjust it as needed and watch yourself blossom to be all that God created you to be.

Proverbs 3:6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. 

By Catherine Munge for Wakenya Canada.