7 ways to create a vision for the life you want.

Do you ever feel completely lost when it comes to the future? As I approach my 40’s, I’ve been thinking a lot about what my life might look like in a few years. I don’t have a typical “career”, I’m not married, I don’t have kids, and I don’t know when or if these things might happen (or if they’ll even happen at all). Apart from the fact I have health issues with epilepsy. 

I know people who have their entire lives planned around these things, and then there’s me, chillin’ in my own little world. It’s easy to get caught up thinking that I need to have everything figured out because society says I should. There are times when it seems like everyone else knows what to do, yet I’m completely clueless.

Though I’ve never had a super detailed plan for my life, I’ve always had a vision of what I want it to look like. From that vision, I’ve tried to make my goals, values, and habits align in some way or another. Good old journaling helps to identify what I want for my life. Sometimes all you need is to visualize the lifestyle you dream of having, even if it seems outlandish or impossible. Specially when covid is around. 

Having a life vision gives you clarity around your future and what you want to get out of it – whether that’s in the next month, year, or five years. Today, I want to share some tips to help you get clarity around your goals, values, and vision for the future so you can start taking action from a place of alignment.

How To Create A Vision For Your Life

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Since we all have different goals and dreams for the future, getting clear on your vision will help you create a path that feels the most fulfilling to you.

The first thing to do before thinking too far ahead in the future is to define what success really means to you. Get your journal out and lets define what success means. Better yet, ask yourself if success is really the end game. If not, what is the end game for you? Happiness, wealth, world peace, self-love? The list goes on.

Another way to think about it is to imagine your future self. When you’re 80 years old and talking to your grandchildren or step grandchildren what do you want to tell them about your life experiences? Think about what you want to accomplish in your lifetime and what kind of person you want to be known as.

I’m not sure about you, but I don’t want to be 80 and feel like I held myself back from doing what I wanted. I don’t want to say I didn’t do things simply because I was afraid to try. At my funeral I want it to be known that I did chase my dreams and goals no matter what. 

The first thing to do before thinking too far ahead in the future is to define what success really means to you. Better yet, ask yourself if success is really the end game. If not, what is the end game for you? Happiness, wealth, world peace, self-love? The list goes on.

Another way to think about it is to imagine your future self. When you’re 80 years old and talking to your grandchildren, what do you want to tell them about your life experiences? Think about what you want to accomplish in your lifetime and what kind of person you want to be known as.

I’m not sure about you, but I don’t want to be 80 and feel like I held myself back from doing what I wanted. I don’t want to say I didn’t do things simply because I was afraid to try.

If you want to start creating a vision for your future, here’s where to start. I’ve taken this list from The Success Principles by Jack Canfield because it’s one of the most useful exercises I’ve ever done. I truly think it helps you to get clear on what you want out of life.

Of course, our dreams and goals are going to change over time, but let’s focus on what we want right now. You don’t have to figure out your entire life right away, but doing this now will give you a little more direction.

Sit in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed. From there, visualize exactly what you want out of these seven areas of life:

1. Financial

• How much do you make annually or weekly?
• What does your home look like? Where are you living?
• What kind of car do you drive? If you are able to drive. 

2. Career

• Where are you working?
• What career do you want? 
• What are you doing?
• Who are you working with?

3. Recreation

• What do you do in your free time?
• What hobbies are you working on?
• Where are you going on vacation?

4. Health

• What are you doing to stay healthy? Specially during covid time! 
• What are you eating? How do you stay fit?
• Are you free from disease and illness?
• Are you doing whatever you can to be seizure free? 

5. Relationships

• What is your relationship with your family like?
• How often do you see friends?
• What type of romantic relationship are you in? If you in one.

6. Personal Life

• How are you improving yourself as a person?
• How are you nourishing your mind, body, and soul?
• What kind of goals are you working towards?

7. Community

• What kind of communities are you part of?
• What is your role in your community?
• How are you helping others?

After you’ve visualized these things, write them down. WRITE THEM DOWN. Seriously. I have the same list I wrote years ago that I refer back to it all the time.

What If Your Vision Changes?

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I’m the kind of person who changes my mind on a daily basis. I’ll set goals for myself and then completely forget about them in a few weeks because I’ve moved on to something else.

Whenever I’ve written out a list of things I want to accomplish in my life (like the one above), I’ll revisit it months later and find that I’ve either accomplished things without realizing it or I still want to accomplish them but in a different way than I first imagined.

I think our priorities change more often than our goals change. Things that were once our top priority can get pushed aside because another priority takes precedence. And that’s totally okay.

Don’t worry about whether your vision will make sense in years to come. Just focus on what you want out of life at this current moment and roll with it.

What does your vision for the future look like?

I hope this post has encouraged you to create a vision for your future – one that helps you be intentional and aligned with how you imagine your life to be.