We talk a lot about goals in building a business with Forever, short term, longer term, they’re important; they are the markers along the way – the stepping stones taking us to where we want our lives to be. Achieving goals builds our confidence and gives us a sense of accomplishment. But ahead of that comes our vision for our lives. So what do I mean? In simple terms ‘our vision’ is what we want our lives to look like, how we want to feel in that life, how we will be spending our time, where and with whom. It’s our day-dreaming if you like and it’s something that many of us struggle with.

Why is vision so important?

When we have a compelling vision for our life it has a kind of magnetic force that pulls us along. The goals along the way and the actions we need to take become really clear and because we are so connected to our vision it becomes easier to take those steps especially during those times when we are not feeling quite so motivated or we’ve had a set-back, a disappointment or we’re afraid. We also become much less interested in what others say and think about what we are doing. We develop a laser-like focus on where we are going, in short we become a force.

I have a theory about why some of us find developing a vision so hard. I think it can be as a result of simply being told ‘no’ over and over as children. We get used to being denied the things that we would like to do or to have and somewhere along the way as we get older we stop asking. Over time we lose the ability to dream, and simply get too busy with our daily reality to even ask the question ‘what do I really want?’

What anyone who is successful in Forever has been able to do is develop a compelling vision. So how can we master this important skill?

First of all be patient. Your vision is not likely to come as the result of a ‘light bulb moment’. Create some time for yourself – even ten minutes is good if you have a demanding life, relax with a pen and paper.

Some questions to start your exploration:

• What really matters to you in life? Not what should matter, what does matter?
• What would you like to have more of in your life?
• What are your secret passions and dreams?
• What would bring more happiness into your life?
• What do you want your relationships to be like?
• What qualities would you like to develop?
• What are your values?
• What are you good at?
• What would you most like to accomplish?
• What legacy would you like to leave behind?

You might want to also check out Brian Mayne’s guest blog from January which has some other great questions for connecting with what matters to you https://bob-parker.com/magic-finding-path-purpose/

Now all of this is going to take a lot longer than 10 minutes so come back to it each day – get up a little earlier in the morning if that is the only way you can grab some ‘me time’.  This may feel like a very alien experience asking yourself these questions but it’s the start of the process.

These questions are the starting point to identify the ‘gaps’ in your life they can also be very affirming in terms of where in your life you are living your vision; many of us wouldn’t change everything in our lives.

Next create a vision board, you may have one already with images from magazines representing the goals you have set yourself. If you have one already make sure it captures the ‘feeling’ of the vision you have. It’s worth revisiting your board on a regular basis, sometimes the things we’ve identified as being important over time we realise that we don’t really want those things – it’s ok to change our minds!

Have some fun with this set aside a couple of hours – this is a great blog by Jack Canfield on creating a vision board and why it works http://bit.ly/2p3Eazw

By putting a vision board somewhere you can see it every day, you will prompt yourself to visualize your ideal life on a regular basis. Take a photo of your vision board and make it your home screen on your phone/laptop/iPad. You need to be seeing this at every opportunity.

Developing a vision for your life is a process it’s not a one time activity but now you’ve started it’s like building a muscle the more you think about your vision the stronger it becomes. It’s also important to step into the feelings that you would be having if you were living your vision. Let me know if you’ve had success with this approach or if you have your own tips for getting clear on your vision, I’d love to hear from you.