We have all worked for or connected with businesses or companies with vision statements. These statements are at the core of helping all understand how to accomplish the mission based on a set of values.
Vision statements are not just for businesses and companies. They can help individuals and families to create and live by a set of values to accomplish goals. You might be wondering why you should create a personal vision statement, especially if you’re already driven and goal-oriented. What’s the point? How will it add value to your life?
Personal vision statements bring many benefits to the people who have them. There’s not enough space to cover all the benefits you’ll get from creating your own vision statement, so how about I hit you with three to get your wheels turning:
- It gives you a sense of direction.
A personal vision statement will give you a feeling of direction, of knowing where you are and where you are trying to go. Think of it like a map that allows you to understand where you’re headed, connecting you to your work and making it feel meaningful. Most humans crave this, especially in a world as chaotic as the modern one.
If you start to feel lost, you must look at your vision statement to help you realize the truth. This is an important psychological benefit -don’t underestimate it!
- It helps motivate you.
Motivation isn’t something you feel all the time. It comes, and it goes. Let’s face it; sometimes, you’re more motivated than others. Sometimes you won’t want to work on your goals at all, either because you’re too busy or you’re frustrated at a lack of progress. Lack of motivation is where discipline becomes essential but getting your motivation back is also a prime goal.
Personal vision statements have been shown to provide additional motivation when it’s lagging. It can give you the extra push to keep going and get yourself over the finish line when times are tough.
- It provides a framework for decision-making.
Making decisions is part of being an adult, and sometimes it becomes hard to make decisions that keep us moving toward where we want to be in life and aligned with our values.
A personal vision statement helps with decision-making by providing a framework you can use to evaluate options, especially for complex decisions. Which options move you towards accomplishing your next goal? Which will move you further away from it? Which ones would let you uphold your values? Would any require you to break your values?
You can use this yes/no framework to decide which options to evaluate further and which to eliminate. This takes the stress out of decision-making and lets you make decisions that will help you succeed.
Over the next few days, I will share information that will give you practical steps to create your personal vision statements. With your new vision…and vision statement, you will begin establishing a better road map to accomplishing your goals.
Stay tuned…
