Image: Jared Erondu/Unsplash
Who wants a life filled with passion and purpose?
When I ask clients where they want to go, and what they want to do and be, they often struggle because they have no idea.
These people are lost, and have lost a part of themselves. Like some of us, they didn’t follow their hearts, but stumbled through life into relationships, jobs and careers. Sometimes they tell me they just fell into it, wanted to please their families or blindly followed societal norms. And that’s the key. They are unclear. Without clarity, there is no direction.
Too many people are stuck in a rut. It’s not because they aren’t gifted or capable, but because their vision is limited or they haven’t created one. They are blocked from seeing, imagining and believing in their future selves.
What’s a Vision?
Your vision is the big picture. It’s what you want to achieve or what you intend to become. It’s giving yourself a glimpse of the future you aspire to.
Ask yourself, what lifestyle am I trying to create? Have a clear vision of how you want to live or live with your family. How would you like to spend your days at home and work? What do you truly desire? You must think about all facets of your life, including areas such as family, friends, spirituality, career, money, health, home and holidays.
Ninety percent of your brain is subconscious; only, ten percent is conscious. More than two hundred studies have proven that visualisation works. Your subconscious doesn’t know the truth, so visualisation effectively tricks your mind into believing whatever it is you want it to believe.
Why do We Need to Create a Vision?
Envisioning is a challenging process that will help you reconnect with yourself. It will help you realise your part in the world and reignite your passion for life, motivating you to find a better purpose. Creating a vision guides and inspires us, showing us what to do next and what to concentrate on, whether it be for the next six months or the next six years. It’s a beacon we walk towards, and keeps us focussed on what’s important in our lives. It also helps us move in the direction needed to achieve it.
Are you likely to succeed without a clear vision? According to an article by Life Hack, the best way to create a vision for the life you want, the harsh reality, which I have found out for myself and which my clients have discovered, is if you don’t develop your own vision you will be influenced or directed by other people and circumstances, and risk becoming disillusioned with life. It will feel like life is passing you by.
Creating a vision also gives us the answers to those burning questions: what’s my passion and purpose in life, and what’s my true potential? With a vision, we can answer those big questions, make those choices, and face those challenges with much more certainty.
How do We Create a Vision?
Creating your own vision of a future life, career or relationship will require more than some quick contemplation over a cuppa. Cultivating a vision requires heartfelt reflection and contemplation. Consider strategic envisioning. You need to create a vision that involves logic, planning, and practicality.
Set aside fifteen minutes to get creative or read your dream journal to get a sense of your hopes and aspirations. Above all, your vision must be in sync with your values and ideals. The more congruent you are, the more energy, enthusiasm and commitment you will have to investigate.
Let’s start with a simple Life Vision questionnaire, which was inspired by a Rocking Chair life vision exercise from the website The Accountability Factor. Now, take a moment to really imagine you are blissfully happy and healthy at eighty years old. You’re sitting in your favourite chair, looking back over your ideal life.
First, imagine: Where are you living? What are you doing? Who are you living with? Then ask yourself these questions:
- Who are you as a person?
- What is it about you that people value?
- What qualities would you like more of in your life?
- What have you achieved?
- What are you proud of?
Contemplate all areas of your personal and professional life, and your lifestyle. Include what you’ve learnt and what you did within your community.
What will you regret not having done? What legacy would you like to leave?
Be creative. Consider ideas that you never thought possible. Focus on your wishes, not what others expect of you. It’s important to invest time to create your vision statements. The more specific you are in knowing what you want, the more you’ll ignite your passions to work out your priorities and the choices you’ll need to make to take those first action steps.
Why Set Some Goals?
Goal-setting is the most powerful tool used to achieve success and create happiness. It enables you to have a clearer focus on where you want to channel your energies.
Let’s do a goal-setting exercise together. It’s called the Crossing a River technique because if you’re a hiker knowing how to cross a river is an essential skill that involves preparation and technique, just like goal-setting.
Firstly, write your goal down, whatever it is. Make sure you write where or what you want to get to. Explore the steps you’ve already taken to move towards your goal. If there aren’t any yet, that’s okay. Now think about whether there is anything you could do without fear, limiting beliefs or judgement to get to the end result?
What are just three tiny things you could do if you knew you could not fail? Name three action steps that you are committed to doing this week.
It’s important that these are easy action steps so you don’t overwhelm yourself or self-sabotage.
I love post-it notes, so buy yourself some stickers and have them placed in strategic locations to keep you focussed.
To recap, here are my five final goal-setting tips for you to use to take action:
- Write your goals down
- Track your progress
- Share your goals with trusted family and friends
- Redesign them if they’re not working
- Celebrate small milestones
Create your life plan and start visioning, making strategic plans and setting goals that are in sync with your core values. I believe the cause of our suffering (i.e. our anxieties, fear and loneliness) is a failure to align with our true authentic self.
I hope this helps you to create a map of where you want to go. If you want to have a better life – one that is filled with happiness, fulfilment, love and success – the first thing you must do is decide what you really want from life, and the ways you want to live it.
Don’t just like the idea of having a vision, take the hard yards and sit your ass down and create one. Give yourself the time and opportunity to create a life vision that excites, motivates and challenges you to be the best version of yourself every single day.
Create a vision that’s so attractive you simply fall in love with the idea and can’t stop thinking about it.
Fiona Craig is a life coach, psychotherapist and award-winning finalist at 2016 International Book Awards for her first book, “Stuck in a Rut – How to rescue yourself & live your truth” helping men and women get unstuck from their job rut and onto finding their dream career.
Her transformational life coaching packages help her clients remove the fear, worry and guilt to confidently take the steps towards creating the life they want to live.
Fiona has been interviewed by The Australian Women’s Weekly, and The New Daily, and written articles for I Am Woman Magazine, Women’s Fitness magazine, Girlfriend Magazine, Career One, Sunday Life Magazine (Fairfax), Collective Magazine, Herald Sun Melbourne, plus several blogs and online publications.
You can learn more about working with Fiona at lifebalancecoach.com.au or call 0405 433 217.
