Creating your life vision

Do you know where you want to go in life?

Do you know who you want to be?

Carl Jung, one of the founding fathers of depth psychology, once said, “Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens.” Those words are so true. By looking inside ourselves, we can turn our dreams into reality.

To get started figuring out where you want to go in life, think about these questions:
Where do you want to be in 2, 5, or 10 years? What do you want to be doing?
Imagine your future life…are you single, in a relationship, with children, empty nesting, retired? What job are you doing? What activities are you involved in? What are your hobbies? What quality of life do you wish to enjoy? Are you in a position to contribute to a cause or interest? So…How are you going to make it happen? Another one of my favorite quotes is from an unknown author and says, “Seeing yourself as you want to be is the key to personal growth”. Careful soul-searching on these questions will help you grow as a person.

Next, visualize what you want. Try envisioning the life you would like to live, your ideal life. Would you like a new career? Go back to school? Have children? Travel around the world? When do you want to retire? What do you want to have done by then?

Ask yourself “What does my life look like…”
In 12 months time?
In 2, 5, 10, 20 years time?

I know it seems a little weird to think about what you want to do in 20 years but it is important to know where you are headed so that you know how to get there. Much like a car trip, you probably wouldn’t want to set out with just the idea to head north. If you know that you are headed to a particular destination, you will take the roads that lead you there. If for some reason you get off course, you can look at your map and know you need to make adjustments and get back on course or to redefine your course altogether. Speaking of redefining your course, this can happen too, and is perfectly normal as you grow and change throughout your life. This is where a periodic review of your plan comes in handy.

After you’ve given some thought to your ideal life and envisioned what it will look like, you’ll want to write out your goals. Try writing goals in the following areas: relationships, career, family, health, financial.

Then commit to your vision and goals and take action. Joel Barker, an independent scholar who has done considerable work in the area of corporate leadership says that “Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world.” This is a very powerful statement that shows the connection between our vision and our actions. And while you may not be out to change the world, these words are very applicable to our lives.

Even more simply stated, your goals will remain daydreams without action. So in this step, we are going to write down our commitments so you know what you need to do.

Ask yourself these questions:
· What do I need to do?
· What needs to happen to achieve my goal?
· What is something I can do today to move me a little closer to my goal?
· Who do I need to help, support, or hold me accountable for the completion of my goal?

It’s very important to be very specific in detailing your commitments. The more specific you are, the better your chances for success.
These three steps can transform your life from a vision in your head to a reality! You first begin by visualizing what you want from your life. Then use that vision to set your goals. Once you’ve set your goals, commit to them and take action. Robert Collier, one of the first success authors, once said “Visualize this thing you want. See it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin.” It doesn’t matter how big your first step is. The point is that you took the first step!

These are the basic steps to get you started. I want to emphasize that your goals and action steps be written down on paper, not just stored in your head, and reviewed periodically.

I challenge you to get started on creating your life vision and see what happens! Start living your ideal life beginning now!