Personal Vision Statement

Personal Life Vision Statement

At the end of your earthly journey will you hear God say to you, "Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord." Will you be able to say as Jesus did, "It is Finished?" Only if you know your end goal will you be able to make that assessment. What is your end goal? What are you living your life for?

Purpose of a Vision Statement

Do you have a written vision statement to guide your life? Life is a journey and your vision statement is your map.

What happens if you don't have one?

If you don't know where you are going and do not have vision statement - you let life happen, swept along by society's values and trends with no compass, without a map, without vision or purpose. You are not actively living life but passively drifting through life.
James 1:6-8 tells us that we if we don't have faith and wisdom doubting God we will be tossed to and fro in life. If you don't have a vision statement it is like a ship that has lost its rudder at sea and a storm is coming. What will happen when the storm hits and you can't steer in the right direction?
If we don't have a vision statement we wonder why life seems so boring, meaningless, has no direction or purpose.
You go along with the crowd and are easily damaged or destroyed.

What happens when you do?

Vision statement give future focus, sense of hope, a deep sense of meaningful purpose.
A vision statement helps to clarify your purpose here on earth.
People who have a vision statement have direction, they have sorted out their life principles, and guidelines.
Vision statements keep you focused on the future not the past baggage - failures, injuries, traumas, bad experiences.
When you live out of your memory you live in the past. When you live out of your imagination, you focus on the future. What is in the past is nothing compared to what lies in the future.
It identifies your relationships and how you want to grow these.
It will include your spiritual gift and how you want to use it. Our body works because each cell has a DNA - driving it to fulfill its purpose - skin, liver, blood cells, etc. and relationships between the cells. You are a part of the body of Christ and you will understand your function in that body with a Vision Statement
It will tell of how you feel God wants to use you to help others. It will include any nudges God has given you as to your focus in ministry.
It will reflect your relationship with God, Jesus and Holy Spirit.
Stephen R. Covey a man who has written much about the effective workplace says that a mission statement gives direction if we start with the end in mind so what legacy you want to leave? You have to focus on what you want to leave as a legacy and work toward that vision.

Determining your Vision Statement

Life Guiding Principles are the means to achieve our vision that give you direction and guide your life. These are unalterable truths that you make your own values.

Get perspective, take time to develop your vision statement and be patient. Work hard at getting it down and working it out because fulfilling your vision statement will make you successful.

There is no right or wrong way to write a personal vision statement. A personal vision statement "provides clarity and gives you a sense of purpose." It helps define "who you are and how you will live."

It is a guide to help you down the road of life. It must be meaningful to you because you're going to be living by it. It cannot be something that someone else has put together for their life. You can't be a happy copy cat.

Life Events Timeline

1. Write out a life event time line and include spiritual highlight where God was working in your life.

Anything of significance before I was born?
Did either of your parents struggle with addictions?
When was you born? Where?
Where are you in birth order. How many older and younger siblings, how much older or younger?
Childhood events - vacations, travel, God's protection,
Difficult or traumatic experiences. If sensitive just put down coded info.

Special friends and events that meant something to me.
Marriage
Children
Deaths of family close to me

My Faith Journey - Spiritual Meaningful Experiences such as:

Salvation - what prompted this?
Baptism - where and why
Church responsibilities - activities I was involved in.
Have you ever heard God prompting you to do something?

Learning from Life Events

What did you learn from these events?
What experiences brought you pain and turmoil; joy and peace.
What were my greatest disappointments? Although we might see these as disappointments maybe God kept you from something that would damage you and not lead to the "Big Thing" that He wants for your life.
What was God doing or teaching you through those low or high events.
What is truly important in my life? What do I want my life to focus on? How can I make this happen? What is it that I am all about?
What brings me stability? Peace?
What is my core, my focus in life, the most important thing to ME?

What motivates me:

My reputation?
Expectations of others?
Fear of failure?
Status?
Cool gadgets?

Who can I depend on to guide me into good decisions? What do I admire about such people? What is it that I want to emulate or mimic?

What principles of life bring me most security?

What is the thing that if you lost it would frighten you the most, cause you the greatest angst?

your job,
your money,
your spouse or a friend,
your child,
your faith,
your reputation,
your house,
your car

Why would that frighten you? What about this "thing" are you depending on? Is that the right thing to be depending on according to God? If this is not a proper thing to be dependant on how can you shift from your dependance on this.

What is my vision for the future?

Some people will have to deal with the past before they can get a vision for the future. One suggestion is to write out your troubles in the sand. Walk away and let the waves wash your troubles away. (Arthur Gordon, "The Turn of the Tide.") If you have troubles that are blocking you from moving forward, get some help from a trusted friend or counsellor. You cannot create a future vision when you are living in the past. Fear paralyses!

2. What Life Guiding Principles do you think are important?

Do you believe in honesty, justice, kindness, and trust in God?
Examine your motives What is my focus?
What is my life about?
Is your life self-centered or other centered?
Think through the answers of these realizations, reorganizing life, reorienting , and planting new motives, new desires that are more congruent with higher principles. What are the principles I would like to live by? What Christian Character qualities do I want to develop?

3. Who has inspired you?

Who are your heros and why?
What qualities do you want that these people have demonstrated to you?
Who is the one person who has made the greatest positive impact in my life?
What kind of person do I wish to become? Which relationships do you want to nurture?
What must I do, and how must I manage my life, to constantly nurture these vital relationships?

4. What are your greatest strengths?

What are you good at, your talents, possibilities, and true potential?
What do you like to do for hours?
What would you like to share with others?
What do you like most about your job?
What are your unique gifts. Listen carefully to God and others. Be aware of your surroundings, people but most of all your own heart. Listen to your inner self. What do others see in you? (Yes, ask people who know you, understand your heart and can affirm you - your spouse, pastor, employer, co-worker, friend.
How can I serve others in a meaningful way throughout my life?

5. If you had unlimited resources and unlimited time, what would you choose to do?
Imagine what you would like to be doing 10 or 20 years from now. How do I want to be remembered?

6. Have you made any commitments or promises? How do they fit into your life vision?

7. Do you believe that God has called you to do something and gifted you for that responsibility?

8. From the above brainstorming, write out a vision statement in rough.

9. Put it aside for a day or two and think about what you have written out and made a commitment to make as the center of your life.
Make any adjustments to your vision statement. Like anything with lasting value, crafting a vision statement requires time, thought and planning. However, the effort is well worth it. Revise it and make it easy enough to memorize.

10.Share it with your best friend and family. Get their feedback on what you have written out. Make any changes that make sense but also listen to God to hear what He would want you to do.

11. Print it out in a format that can be framed and displayed. Sign it like a contract to commit yourself to follow the vision statement.
Paint a picture, create an image, or word picture. Visualize your vision statement.

12. Hang it up some place where you can see it and remind yourself daily.

The power of the personal vision statement lies in your vision and in a commitment to that vision, that purpose , and those principle-centered values .

Life is an ongoing Process so is your vision statement My personal vision statement: Loving, Discipling, Enabling, Teaching, Growing

Four Criteria for a good personal vision statement

1. Timeless - Goals change but vision statement should help you create goals to reach along the way. Goals are like destinations along your vision. When you reach one goal you create another to reach. Goals are reachable, measurable, time constrained, clear. Your vision statement guides you in making the goals to help you reach the end point of your journey in life.
Principles are general rules that guide the process to fulfilling the vision statement. Examples are principles such as:
Fairness
Integrity
Honesty
Human dignity
Service
Quality or excellence
Human potential
Principles are not practices (specific activities that work in certain circumstances). Nor are they values (which are simply maps of principles).

2. Your Vision Statement deals with the destination and the values needed to reach it.
A flight plan which airplanes use determines the destination but because of winds change in the sky during flight pilots constantly need to correct their flight path.

3. Vision statement needs to address the various roles in your life.
Child, Parent, Believer, Occupation, Relationships

4. Goals deal with the 4 dimensions in life:
physical, social, mental, spiritual.
The essence of these needs is captured in this phrase "to live, to love, to learn, to leave a legacy."

Helen Keller observed, "Many persons have the wrong idea about what constitutes true happiness. It is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose."
As Goethe put it, "Whatever you can do, or dream , begin it ! For boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now. Dream no little dreams." Stay on target. Plan your course, work toward your destination. Make corrections as needed. Keep reviewing where you're going.

Three aspects of living: public life, private life, inner life
Our secret life or inner life is where we are able to tap into the power of the four human endowments: self-awareness, conscience, imagination, and independent will. As the psalmist put it: " Search your own heart with all diligence, for out of it flows the issues of your life." It truly is a secret life. No one else knows the thoughts and intents of your heart, only you and God.
Developing a personal vision statement is profound and deep work. Get perspective. Take time and be patient. Give yourself several weeks, perhaps even months. You've got to pay the price if you want to reach the goal. People climbing Mt Everest don't start at the bottom of the mountain meandering up trails in hope that one day they will reach the summit.
You need to nurture deep harmony and unity among all the different parts of your nature. Your habit system, your value system, and your intuitive feelings must be blended. There may be pain pockets that will need to be addressed if you want to focus on future success.

Your vision statement is unique based on your gifts, inner qualities and character.

Determining your current situation:
What guiding principles do you want to incorporate into your life that you admire in others. Don't do it just to please others or to conform to their thinking or acting. Do it because God will be pleased with it. Our audience should be God not people.

The Highest and Best Use

What is the purpose of your life?
What gets you excited?
What could you work on for hours and not quite because you are enjoying and loving what you are doing?
What is the basic principle behind that activity?
What is your heart's desire, the focus of your thinking?
Is there anything you want to accomplish in life?
What kind of things draw your attention and you would like to participate in if you had time?
Does this activity have eternal value? ie. Playing video games does not have eternal, lasting value!

Over the years, your circumstances will change. Your priorities will change. Your goals and dreams will change. That's okay - because change means growth. As you grow, transform, and broaden your horizons, allow yourself the freedom to expand and refine your vision statement.

The next step is learning how to live your vision. Maybe it's easy, but maybe it takes some guidance. We're here to help. Learn more about our classes and training here.

Finally, I commend to everybody the great value of the process of long-term thinking and long-term planning in building powerful vision statements that surround the accomplishment of worthy purposes, the fulfillment of worthy visions, and the adoption of worthy values based on principles.

Bibliography Bufford, Bod Game Plan Covey, Stephen R. (2013-07-09). How to Develop Your Personal Mission Statement (Kindle Locations 403-406). . Kindle Edition. Web