Personal Vision

What do we want to be when we grow up? Certainly when we were much younger that was a question we often answered with some type of hero-like image. Firefighter, police officer, nurse, doctor, or other larger than life image that served as a type of super hero to our impressionable minds. As we view ourselves, what is it we want to be? How do we want other people to see us? What drives our satisfaction? What qualities do we hold valuable and what accomplishments will make the biggest difference to us and others?

Our vision sets an image of ourselves in the future having achieved things that seem impossible at the moment. Our vision represents an unconstrained picture of what we want to be without regard to the seemingly impossibility of the achievement at this point. We need to dream big, imagining not only the material aspects of our lives, but relationships, connections, lifestyle and spirituality. We need to imagine the best possible scenario for our everyday existence that pushes all of our positive buttons. This is our “If we can dream it, we can do it” moment, no holds barred in our thinking.

To a large degree it comes down to how do you define success? In all likelihood it is more than the accumulation of material things. History has proven many times over that the accumulation of material things as an end in itself will not be fully satisfying. For many the raw accumulation of wealth without a purpose will not be a satisfier as an end point as well.

Our satisfaction is driven by our achievement for a purpose and our connectedness to the world around us. The old adage is that very few people in their end days say I wish I had spent more time at work. They more typically say I wish I had spent more time with people, family and friends. So our vision must include our total being and not just the material aspects of our existence.

What do we want our life to be like when we get there? There is more to life than just work and achievement, what is the value of the achievement? We need to think about who we will be helping and how those around us are better off as a result of the things we have done. To achieve less will be a hollow victory when we realize that the result was less than the best we could have done. We will be disappointed when we realize the excellence target was missed because we did not fully consider how we impact others and the satisfaction we draw from that accomplishment.

So what does a vision statement do?

• It describes who/what I want to be in the future (when I grow up)
• It answers the question, where do I want to be?
• It paints a picture of what I want to be on some time horizon, say five to ten years
• It inspires me to be more than what I am today

Now let’s create our personal vision statement.

We’ll start by gathering some data to help us create a better result. To get that data, let’s answer some questions about ourselves.

1. List your five most important values. For example it may include things like truth, honesty, caring…
2. Make a one sentence statement about each of the following:
   * Describe your ideal physical appearance
   * Describe a perfect day at work
   * Describe your ideal family relationships
   * Describe your ideal social relationships
   * Describe your ideal financial security
   * Describe your ideal day of relaxation
3. Write a short paragraph of two or more lines describing if you never had to work another day in your life how you would spend your day
4. Write two short paragraphs of two or more sentences reflecting on what you want people to say about you when you are no longer here.

Now that we have the raw data, let’s examine the results. Take 30 minutes to just think these things over in your head, for an image of what this person would be like. Imagine a day in the life of this person. Imagine the difference this person has made to the lives of others. Imagine what this person looks like, how other people react around this person, the tone of the voices, the sound of the chatter, the weather, the setting, the color of the clothes, everything you can imagine about the person you have described. This person is you in the future. This is your personal vision.

Capture it while it is fresh in our mind.

Quickly in 50 words or less write a simple statement that describes that person. If it take more than 50 words, that is not a problem, but keep it as short as possible.

Example:

I will become a fully giving leader of my family, setting an example of excellence in every aspect of my life. I am committed to growing as a leader both professionally and personally to provide for those in my care, delivering my full value to every undertaking. I will strive to be balanced in all aspects of my life and provide financial and moral stability for my family.

Your personal vision statement will be something completely different and may not look like this at all and that is fine. What is important is to keep this vision statement handy to review on a periodic basis, perhaps even daily.

This vision statement will provide a high-level set of guardrails for setting our goals and managing our actions for everything we do. We can now design our actions to take us closer to what we want to achieve. We can now answer the question, “what do I want to be when I grow up?”

How do you answer the question “What do I want to be when I grow up?” I look forward to your comments and hearing about your personal vision.

Thanks,
Skip Gilbert