How to Develop a Personal Vision: A Guide to Living with Purpose
Are you living your best life?
Are you living your best life?
Are you fulfilling your purpose?
Do you still hear the voice of your dreams?
If you find it difficult to answer these questions, it might be time to take a step back and develop your personal vision — like I did. At one point in time, my only goal was to make money, and life was always frustrating. I began to understand that economic success does not lead to personal fulfillment, contentment, or that ethereal feeling of joy. I decided to pause, turn inward, and evaluate the meaningful things to me. I applied all the professional sales training I received and used it to develop a why statement for myself. This is how I began to craft my personal vision (PV).
A PV is more than just a vague wish for the future — it’s a clear, inspiring picture of what you want your life to look like, personally and professionally. It reflects your core values, dreams, and goals, acting as a compass that guides your decisions and actions. Your vision aligns your day-to-day activities with your long-term aspirations, providing clarity, motivation, and purpose. While your vision may evolve as you grow, it remains anchored in your deepest desires and core principles.
If you feel content but not fulfilled, it might be because you are meeting the expectations of others at the expense of your own. What about your expectations? Do you have dreams that haven’t been pursued? Now is the time to break free from the habit of fulfilling others’ visions and begin bringing your own to life.
To create your PV, start by visualizing the life you want to lead — not just in terms of career goals but also your talents, skills, gifts, and curiosities. Where do you want to live? What are your core beliefs? What kind of impact do you want on the world and community around you?
Once you have these ideas, put them down on paper or create a visual representation using a vision board or a Miro board. Look for common themes that emerge and narrow them down, eliminating specific ideas until only the broad concepts remain. From there, craft a single, powerful sentence that encapsulates the essence of those ideas.
Now, you have a working draft of your PV — your guiding light. Use it to make decisions about where to focus your energy and time. The more you engage in activities aligning with your vision, the more you feel fulfilled and energized. As you nurture your dreams, you’ll also become a source of light and energy for others.
Once I drafted a PV, I never took on another project that distracted me from my core values. Use your PV as a guiding light to discern which personal and professional projects are worth your time!
Start your journey toward a purpose-driven life today.
Define your PERSONAL VISION.
Leslie Garner, MS, CFP®
