I’ve had some great feedback from people working their way through my “Create and Live Your Vision” process. I am having some fun with it too – I did my perfect day exercise yesterday (what does your perfect day look like?) and really enjoyed bullet pointing some stuff that I’d love to happen on my perfect day.
Best thing? Lots of it can happen any day! So I’m going to be working to bring elements of my perfect day into my every day this year.
Anyway I was talking to a client about the process of creating (and living) your vision for your life, and I thought I’d share the steps I take with you.
1. I dig deep
I don’t just ask once what I want in my life, I ask 50 times in different ways. I ask what I’d love, what the biggest thing I’d love to change in life right now is, what I’d ask a fairy godmother for, what my body, mind, heart and soul want, what my perfect day looks like. I let myself think and mull and ponder and dream.
Because the first answers you come up with aren’t the only answers. There are deeper desires just waiting to be discovered. This process doesn’t have to take hours (I take hours over it, but that’s me!), you could just set a timer for 20-30 minutes and ask yourself over and over again “what do I want?” and just see what comes up.
2. I ask why
So I end up with pages of thoughts about what I want for my life. Now I dig even deeper and ask WHY I want those things. Why do I want more book sales? Why do I want to lose weight? Why do I want to sort my finances out?
And again, I keep asking until I get to the ‘root’. For example: I want to lose weight because I want to be healthier and fitter. Why? Because I want to feel good. That’s the root – I want to feel good in and about my body. The awesome thing is that I can do that before I lose an ounce! Choose a handful (3-10) of your desires and goals and find the root, find what you really want.
3. I create a vision statement
This is my version of a goal or a mission statement or a resolution. I create something that is a touchstone for me for the year (or more) ahead. For example: I have the freedom to follow my inspiration wherever it leads. (That was my guiding statement for about 3 years!) It’s not specific or measurable or any of that guff, but it works for me.
You need to find a way of wording what you want in life that really works for you. That may be specific, measurable goals, or it may be a word or a statement. For me, the vision statement is something that reminds me what I’m trying to do in life. In the past, I’ve made myself ill with stress trying to make things happen so I can relax. Oh, the irony!
So play with what you desire – what you came up with in parts one and two. Look for repeated words and themes, and create a goal or a vision or a mission – whatever feels good to you.
4. I bring it into every day
So I started today’s article talking about bringing my perfect day into every day. Once I have the vision statement, that’s my guiding star for the year ahead. But I also want to start living that vision right now. I don’t want to be postponing my happiness until I am made Empress of the Universe.
Not that that’s really a desire of mine. Ah-hem. Anyway, I look for ways I can start living my vision today. In the vision statement example above, for years, I made time and space for inspiration to strike by meditating, writing, moving my body. I acted on inspiration. I followed it when I could. In the early days of that vision, that was harder than it is now – I had to practice.
I also looked at what else I wanted and looked for ways to do or feel that in day to day life. This is why we do the ‘why’ of your desires, because when you get to the root, it’s usually a feeling. And you can feel joyful, happy, laid-back, peaceful, powerful, successful, free, secure any day. You can practice those feelings before you get the things you think will make you feel those feelings.
Sometimes you’ll find that you don’t actually need the things you thought you did to feel that way. Like the client who found freedom in running and spending time having carefree fun with her family, instead of leaving The Job and running away from her loved ones! So what can you do to bring what you want into your daily life?
You can do all of the above in a couple of hours. Or you can take your time with it and take weeks (as I have). And if you do, you’ll have a north star to follow AND you’ll be starting to live the life you want immediately.
Even if that’s only a 1% change to start with, you can keep making those small daily changes and following your North Star until you really feel your life changing. I’d love to hear what you come up with, do let me know if you have a go at this. And if you have any questions, I’ll be happy to answer them.
If you’d like to get the full process (including over 50 questions to help you figure out what you want), you can for a mere £7.50 ($9.50) here.
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