How to create your life vision and why it matters

Do you want to find more meaning in your life?

Do you feel there's something missing for you, even though you "have it all?"

Do you crave to align your work with who you truly are?

You're asking the right questions. The fact that you're reading this means you're already on the path to clarity and alignment with your vision for work and life.

Deep down you know there's a role that fits your strengths and desires perfectly. You're ready for the joy and exhilaration of making a meaningful impact that you define.

And yet, there's a voice in your head that tells you that you're not worth it. It says you don't have time to find clarity because you have too much to do already. It says you need to pay the bills. It says things are good enough as they are.

It says, "who am I to demand the perfect job for me?" and "every job has its pluses and minuses, I might as well just get used to it."

The truth about you

You are a unique soul in the universe, with individual experiences, strengths, and desires.

You have an impact on the world, whether you're being intentional about it or not. You impact the people around you, your community, and the organization you work for.

Your family suffers if you're grumpy. Your colleagues feel it when you're stressed. If you burn out and can't do your job anymore, they not only have to deal with the emotional consequences of losing you, but also pick up your slack.

When you're happy, you're more creative and you learn faster. You cheer up the guy at the cash register with your smile. You give your colleagues the sense that it's going to be okay—you got this. You lift your family up with a silly dance or a song.

You matter.

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” ― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

Choosing your vision

You choose whether or not to own your unique path, and shape it in the way that most pleases you.

When you listen to your desires and follow them, you expand into the person you want to become. It's a process that brings you joy and has a positive impact on the world.

When you shove your desires into a dark corner of yourself and let the doubt voices run your life, you close yourself to possibilities. It's a comfortably uncomfortable way to hide.

Either way, you decide.

You can decide right now that you deserve to live the most fulfilling, meaningful life that you can imagine.

You can acknowledge that your family, friends, colleagues, and community also deserve the most vibrant version of you.

Or you can decide that it's not worth the risk, to keep your head down, and continue to put one foot in front of the other.

"When I was a child

I caught a fleeting glimpse

Out of the corner of my eye

I turned to look but it was gone

I cannot put my finger on it now

The child is grown

The dream is gone"

-from the song, Comfortably Numb, by Pink Floyd

You make your choice anew each day, until it becomes a habit to go for your vision. Each day, you'll take small steps toward the the meaningful life you're creating for yourself.

At the end of this article, I'll give you some resources for your journey.

Enjoy the process

You don't have to have all the answers right now.

You don't have to make any drastic changes today.

Creating and living your vision is a gradual process.

In fact, a step-by-step approach is often most sustainable way to live more meaningfully.

In the book, One Small Step Can Change Your Life, Robert Maurer writes,

“All changes, even positive ones, are scary. Attempts to reach goals through radical or revolutionary means often fail because they heighten fear. But small steps...disarm the brain’s fear response, stimulating rational thought and creative play.”

One step at a time, you come more into alignment with the work and the version of yourself that most inspires you.

The rewards of creating your own future

The most fulfilling life is one where you spend your valuable time working on meaningful projects you care about with people who you respect.

Fulfillment (n) : a feeling of happiness because you are doing what you intended to do in life

When you're engaged in such work, it enhances every aspect of your life—from your relationships to your level of income. 

Your relationships become easy because you're satisfied with yourself. When you're generally satisfied, you fight less because you have less to defend, less to prove, and less to be right about. Instead of feeling drained, you're often energized by your work. Your energy bubbles over. You become a natural uplifter.

Your income might increase, as well. A 2016 study published in the Journal of Research and Personality found that individuals who feel a sense of purpose make more money than individuals who feel as though their work lacks meaning.

Harness the power of your vision

A powerful tool for choosing your future is to write down your vision for your life.

No matter your job or life situation, writing down your vision is a solid first step in your chosen direction.

Your life vision is a forward-looking statement defining what’s meaningful for you, and how you want to spend your limited time on this earth. 

It might include:

+ values to live by

+ contributions you want to make

+ experiences you want to have

+ the kind of person you want to be

Your vision is like the rudder on your sailboat. It keeps you stable during changing winds, and you can use it to self-direct your life according to your personal sense of purpose. 

Your vision statement becomes a tool for making life decisions—from which job to take next to which people to spend more time with.

Ultimately, your vision is an affirmation of the possibilities you see for yourself and the world. Writing it down clearly and concisely forces you to bring it into focus. When you revisit it, you retrain your focus on the possibilities you're creating.

"I can live out of my imagination instead of my memory. I can tie myself to my limitless potential instead of my limiting past. I can become my own first creator."

-Stephen Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

A matter of focus

It's easier for humans to focus on what we've already created, even if what we've created isn't what we want. It's more difficult for us to believe in things we can't yet see.

Yet, everything you see and experience started with a vision in someone's mind.

Focus on your vision, and eventually you will create it.

Focus on the fears, doubts, and obstacles, and they will grow louder and taller.

"The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire, not on things we fear."

-Brian Tracy

Resources for defining and living your vision

The following resources are the ones that I've found most useful for myself and my clients on the intentional, visionary journey. I hope they support you.

You don't need to do all of them. Choose a few that stand out to you as exercises you would enjoy!

• Read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey. In the chapter on Habit 2: Begin With the End in Mind, Covey writes in depth about the value of having a "personal mission statement" to guide your life. You can also go to franklincovey.com to read examples of others' personal mission statements, and build your own.
• Define your values. There are tons of resources out there! Two I'd recommend are the Core Values list from Scott Jeffrey and this values worksheet, which is accompanies The Happiness Trap, a book by Russ Harris.
• Reflect on how you want to be remembered when you're gone. This sobering yet potent exercise, also from Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, helps you to find your vision by getting in touch with the person you want to be. Experience the full exercise here.
• Create your Individual Development Plan, a tool to write down your vision, goals, and action steps in own place.
• Try this mini-workshop for discovering what you truly want. I designed it with questions and exercises to unblock you from your fears and doubts so you can focus on what you want, and why.
• Spend time meditating to quiet your mind and allow yourself to reconnect with infinite intelligence. One of my favorite meditation apps is Insight Timer. On the app you can choose between guided meditations or a simple timer.
• Walk outside every day and appreciate the wonder of the natural world. This post includes an exercise for using nature as a gateway to let go of excess mind chatter that's blocking your clarity and become present.
• Read One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way, by Robert Maurer for a guide to easing your way into new habits.
• Consider private coaching with a professional who will guide you to clarity on your vision, and support you to take aligned action.
• Join a Mastermind like Spirit Drivers, which brings professionals together to support each other in living their visions and uplifting the human spirit.

Thank you for reading, and for seeking to live a joyful, authentic, and fulfilling life!

About the Author

Elise Dorsett is a Certified Transformative Life Coach for professionals seeking to align who they are with what they do. She has an affinity for helping people create a clear path to peace, satisfaction, and fulfilment in professional and personal life.

Elise is the founder of Elise Dorsett Coaching, based in Zürich, Switzerland, and the creator of Spirit Drivers, a Mastermind for professionals to support each other in achieving their visions, especially during uncertain times. Her clients come from all over the world.

Interested in talking with Elise about finding alignment with your vision, or to learn more about Spirit Drivers? Simply click the link below to schedule a complimentary session today.

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