Writing Your Very Own Vision - Some Examples

My last few posts must have hit a cord as I have received feedback letting me know how great the reads have been.  And how important it is to have a personal vision.  And just how difficult it is to have one and how extemely difficult it is to write it down!!

So I want to say "calm down" this is not as tricky or as difficult as it can be made out to be. And yes lots of people ask: 

Should my vision be for life?

Can I have a vision for the next year?

What is a vision anyway?

So, regardless of whether this is theoretically correct or not, iI want to let you know that I have two visions.  One is for my life (took me til 40ish to come up with it) and then I also do a vision for each year and it reflects more what I want to focus on for the year.  This works for me. 

What's a Vision? 

Vision is “the ability to see’.  Vision gives you a clear sense of where you are heading. It is the big picture view of what you are trying to create.  The vision is the desirable destination - not the way there, not how we have to act to get there – but it is a description of that future.  It should be in sufficient detail or simplicity so that it works for you and helps you use it successfully. 

Examples of Visions          

I am always asked for examples of ‘good’ vision statements.  As much as I want to stress that your vision, one that has meaning for you will be a good vision, here are a couple of diverse examples for you.  You will see some of these examples are for life and some are for a year. 

Example 1
I live to serve my talents as a communicator, artist and independent business woman.  I create balance in work, play and my community.  I inspire those I interact with.

Example 2

To live a year of happiness, sincerity and peace.  To laugh often and to feel that I have contributed to greater good.

Example 3

No painful memories

Example 4

Fun, laughter, stability and positive change

Example 5 
A year of learning.  This will help me grow and revitalise the life I have with my wife and family.  I will always endeavour to understand others – this will be my first act with my wife, my family and my business.  I want to influence the development of organisations and people I work with and to teach and help others grow beyond their current self limits.  I will build relationships that support this direction.

Example 6

This year’s vision for our family is to create a nurturing place of order, love and happiness as well as relaxation and to provide opportunities for all to be independent and interdependent.

Without your vision, you can get caught up in someone else's and go along for the ride ending up in a place where you don't really want to be feeling pretty dissatisfied.  It's about then that a BIG voice can be heard bellowing "live your own life" - be all that you are capable of being and ensure ebverything you do leads you in the direction you want to go - the direction of your vision."  So, if you have haerd this voice its tiem to start afresh and set your very own vision.  It's good to have one for life, but you can also set one for the year ahead. 

Self - Esteem - 5 Things You Should Know.

Took advantage of a lovely winter's day today and headed off to the annual second hand book sale in our local hall.  The Friends of the Library Group run the sale to raise money to buy new books for our library.  In one day, 5000 books walked out the door so they are well on their way to breaking a fund raising target.

After losing myself in the gardening, craft, business and fictions section,  I stumbled across a magazine.  The words, Life's Little Secrets - Five Things You Should Know about the Stuff That Really Matters.   Fifty cents later with magazine in hand (and a few other books as well) I left the hall.

The article, written by Carolyn Parfitt in the NOTEBOOK magazine was a great read and here are the 5 things you should know about Self - Esteem.  It's always good to remind ourselves of helpful hints and lessons for life!

1. The goal of high self-esteem can sometimes seem like a mysterious thing other people attain but not you.  It's not.  It is simply a matter of self talk - how you talk to yourself about yourself.

2. This quote from aothor Marianne Wilkinson is gold.  "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?'  Actually, who are you not to be?... Your playing small does not serve the world."

3. Shakespeare was right when he had Polonius (in Hamlet) give this advice to his son Laertes, about to leave for France: "This, above all, to thine own self be true.."  Certainly, being true to yourself, acting in the way you believe is right, is one of the keys to a healthy self-esteem and inner peace.

4. Give yourself a break by accepting that making mistakes is a universal human trait.  Treat it as a learning curve.

5. Habits that help build a healthy self-esteem are;

• Recognising your good points:
• Spending time with people who make you laugh:
• Doing things you enjoy:
• Taking care of yourself:
• Doing something to help someone else:
• Wearing clothes that make you feel good;
• Not comparing yourself to others.                

Write it Down It Really Does Make You Feel Better

I've been jounalling ........And it's all been about GRATITUDE.  Although I have always wanted to journal as I think I have lots of stuff going on that would make more and better sense if I wrote it down, it wasn't until I bought a Gratitude Journal that I really got serious and am starting to feel and see benefits.

I'm a believer in what you focus on expands and giving thanks and being grateful really helps to find focus.  Somwhow, although its a Gratitude journal, I still write about;
My life,
My musings,
My loves,
My favorite things,
My favorite people,
My favorite moment and at times
My not so likes of favorites!!
I find it an amazing release and a great way of renewing my positive energy.

There are lots of beautiful journal available now. One of my all time favorites is my very first journal which is an oriental red.  I bought it at Monograms Papers in Milton in Brisbane years ago now.  And they still have them and more.

I find having a beautiful journal, a really special thing.  My journal has turned out to be like an emotional partner who just listens, nods their head and just somehow always seems to understand!     

Questions to Evoke Your Personal Vision

We all know (at least most of us do) the importance of having our very own personal vision.  We all know it helps us to set our life compass, get involved in things and do things that are meaningful and that overall living to a  personal plan will increase and sustain our happiness and live a great life.  So what is the big deal!! 

The big deal is that it is harder to set a personal vision that you might think. Stephen Covey, Peter Senge and others point out that a powerful vision can help you succeed far beyond where you'd be without one.  Yeah, yeah, yeah, again we know all this.

Questions to Evoke Your Vision
So here are some questions that will help you to begin to craft your very own personal vision.  They should help you to ponder, dream and think about life.  Jot down your anwers and see what you think.  And then be brave, share your answers with someone you trust and see where the conversation takes you.  Following this, find a quiet spot and write your very own personal vision.  A big call, you can do it.

1. What things do you really like doing?
2. What brings you happiness and joy?
3. What are the two best moments of your past week?
4. What 3 things would you do if you won the lottery?
5. What issues / causes do you care greatly about?
6. What are some things that you can do at the good - excellent level?
7. What would you like to stop doing or do as little as possible?

Good luck, see how you go and let me know how valuable these questions are for you.        

Create Your Own Personal Vision

I have just spent some time googling How to Create a Personal Vision.  Ohhhh my goodness, there is a plethora of information online about this topic.  I am not sure how we are meant to know which ones are good, great, effective etc.  I was getting so carried away with my reading that I had to give myself a time limit so that I would actually get back to tasks and timelines!!

And just as I was thinking, this is all too hard, I found this short video snippet and thought you may like to have a look at it too.  The speaker is Benay Wettle and she shares with us how to create an awesome personal vision statement. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0E8Ub8n64w
Hope the link works for you as I have not embedded a link in this Blog before.  Fingers crossed.

Silence is Sensible

"Let silence do the heavy lifting". 
Susan Scott.

"Where in your life did you become uncomfortable with the sweet territory of silence?"

Native American saying.

I want to share a short extract from a book called Fierce Conversation by Susan Scott, and in particular the chapter, Let Silence do the Heavy Lifting.  Hope it resonates at some level with you - for whatever reason!

Extract from Fierce Conversations - Chapter 7, Let Silence Do the Heavy Lifting. 
"Do you know of someone who will mostly die with his or her mouth open?  Many CEOs could go on this list.  This is not good.  A dazzling way with words rarely proves to be enough to guarantee success as a leader.  Joseph Conrad suggested, "To have the gift of  words is no such great matter.  A man furnished with a long-range weapon does not become a hunter or a warrior by the mere possession of a firearm; many other qualitites of character and temperament are necessary to make him either one or the other."

Many people attempt to forge relationships exclusively through words.  Lots of words.  However, the best leaders talk with people, not at the. Emerging entrepreneurs have special challenges.  They can get so wrapped up in telling the story of their businesses, in order to attract employees, vendors, and investors, that they no longer have conversations.  They have "versations", talking at people rather than with them.

Talking at people is a common affliction.  In fact, on a purely practical note, did you know that eight out of ten sales proposals fail?  And 50 percent of those eight fail because we spent too much time talking about ourselves or the features and benefits of our product, and not enough time talking about the customer and listening to the customer before we explained how wonderful doing business with us would be.

We all know people, intent on impressing us, who talk so much that they turn us off completly.  Such people are often unconscious of the effect they are having on others, as they run on endlessly about their accomplishments and clever ideas.  They may be spectacularly brilliant.......The trouble is, it wears us out to be with them.  They talk incessantly, going from one story to the next, without taking a noticeable breath.  Though their stories are at timesentertaining and laced with insight, after a  while we get the feeling that we are merely a spot on the wall in which they direct their comments."

Tips for Using Silence in Your Conversations
And here are some tips from Susan about how to use silence in all our conversations....

1. Talk with people, not at them.
2. The more emotionally loaded the subject, the more silence is required.
3. Use silence to slow down a conversation so that you can discover what the conversation really wants to be about.
4. Allow silence to fill in the greater meaning that needs to be there.
5. Allows silence to teach you how to feel.

A Challenge for You 
And a challenge for you.  Have a go.  Over the next day or so during a conversation at home or at work, have a go at building in silence.  Give yourself space before you speak so that you can fully understand what others have said.  Use a statement such as "that's interesting, I'd like a moment to reflect on what you have said", pause take some time and then respond.                          

Live Love and Thrive

Isn't this what we all want?  So how do we get it? Good question....  Here are my Top Ten Tips.

1. Like and love yourself.
2. Drink loads of water (squeeze of lemon helps).
3. Surround yourself with positive people.
4. Think and say positive things.
5. Acknowledge your strengths and live them as often as you can.
6. Say thank you (for even the smallest things).
7. Live beyond today.
8. Smile, Smile, smile and smile some more - it really does warm hearts, including your own.
9. Speak to yourself daily - keep it positive.
10. Always have a dream.  Allow yourself to dream and drift beyond the small things.

And now it's over to you.  Make up your very own Top 10 Tips.  Display them on your computer, carry them with you.... LIVE BY THEM.