One of the philosophies I developed for myself is this ‘life is business and to make the most of life, you need to give it a business approach’. Based on that philosophy, I often apply business principles and practices to my life to help keep me productive and achieve the results I desire.
One of the practices I find most useful is the practice of creating a vision statement for myself. Companies and organisations create vision statements as a way to keep themselves in line with their vision and to keep themselves motivated. You probably have seen companies talk about their vision statements or you may have read on their websites and wondered to yourself, ‘o wow, that is so cool’.
Do you know that just like companies and organisations have vision statements for themselves, you too can have a vision statement created for yourself?
Yes, individuals have personal vision statements to help guide them in the things they do, how they do them, and the way and manner they go about them. This allows them to clarify their goals and stay focused on achieving them.
In this post, I will help you understand more about your vision statement and why you need one for yourself.
What Is a Personal Vision Statement?
A vision statement is an inspirational message that summarizes an entity’s present and future objectives or goals. A personal vision statement, therefore, is an inspirational message that seeks to remind you of your present and future objectives.
As I pointed out, the practice of having a personal vision statement is an idea that is borrowed from the business world.
Why You Need A Personal Vision Statement
There are so many reasons why you need a personal vision statement. Just like I pointed out in the introduction, companies and organisations have vision statements to help keep them reminded of their goals and objectives. However, vision statements do much more than remind them of their goals and objectives, they also help tell others about who they are and seek to convince them of their quality.
This is one of the reasons why a personal vision statement is important to you as an individual as it will help convince others about the quality of the person you are. Other reasons why you need a personal vision statement are as follows:
- A personal vision statement helps provide you with a sense of direction and purpose.
Having a sense of direction and purpose is important as an individual in all you do. When you feel you are not heading anywhere in particular, you may never feel happy or satisfied with yourself. A personal vision statement helps provide you with the needed sense of direction or purpose.
- A personal vision statement helps you stay on track with your purpose and vision at all times.
Working on your purpose or vision could be challenging as there will be distractions and things to discourage you along the way. Some days, you may find yourself drifting from your vision or purpose and on such days, a well-written personal vision statement can do the magic for you. It can help you bring yourself back on track with your purpose and vision.
- A personal vision statement helps keep you going.
As an individual, there are days you may not feel motivated or interested in the work you do. Days you may even think of quitting. Having a personal vision statement can help motivate you on those days you don’t feel motivated.
In 2021, I organised a training program for undergraduates. I did all the necessary things to ensure the training kicked off and ran successfully, however, there were challenges. I did not get the number of participants planned for and the participants who registered were not all fully committed to the training. If you are into consultancy and training as I am, you will understand how this feels and on various occasions, I felt like quitting.
One of the ways I helped myself come out of the rut and not quit was my vision statement. During those days, I will go into my closet and take out my vision statement, read them again to myself and get motivated again to keep going.
Closing Thoughts
A personal vision statement is more than just a written statement. It serves both internal and external purposes. If you don’t have one yet, you may not know what you are missing out on.
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