Do you know what you want from life? I mean, really know?
It can be easy to take life day-by-day without looking at where you’re going or what you really want. And while this may seem like an easier path … it rarely leads to a satisfying life.
Getting a clear vision for your life will help you discover your own path to true happiness, and provide a foundation on which you can build and achieve your innermost dreams.
Let’s take a closer look at how and why to develop a vision of your ideal life.
Why Is Having a Vision for Your Life So Important?
Knowing exactly what you want can up-level your life in so many different ways. The following are some of the key benefits of getting clear on your life’s vision.
1. Motivation and a Sense of Purpose
Your vision is essentially the “why” behind your actions. It is the motivating force behind your behaviors, and provides a sense of purpose and direction in life.
That sense of purpose will give you the drive to keep going when you’re faced with unavoidable obstacles and challenges along the way. When you know what you want and why you want it, your commitment to make it your reality becomes stronger.
You will naturally become a person of action who takes bold steps forward in pursuit of your dreams.
2. A Clear Target
“If you don’t know exactly where you’re going, how will you know when you get there?”
~ Steve Maraboli
A clear vision gives you a well-defined end goal to work towards. This helps you formulate more appropriate goals to get to where you want to be, and offers insight into the next steps you should be taking.
Your vision provides a stopping point because you’ll know exactly when you’ve reached it. Then you are free to set a new vision, establish a new target, or outline new goals so you can continue to grow and mature as an individual.
3. Courage
Having an unclear vision of your future can cause you to feel more like a victim than someone who’s capable of manifesting their dreams. This can lead to feeling afraid or disempowered, and prevent you from taking positive action.
However, getting clear on your vision can give you the courage necessary to move forward on your goals. When you understand exactly where you’re going – and the path you need to take to get there – you can become an unstoppable force in your own life.
How to Get a Clear Vision for Your Life
Nelson Mandela once said, “Action without vision is only passing time, vision without action is merely day dreaming, but vision with action can change the world.”
He was suggesting that in order to truly live up to your potential, you need a vision for your life to drive your actions.
So how do you actually develop this vision? A good place to start is by asking yourself the following five questions:
1. What Do You Want?
One key to developing a life vision is to assess what you really want.
Get out a pen and paper – or your favorite device – and write down what your deepest desires truly are. It may help to ask yourself questions like:
- Who do I desire to be?
- What is my ultimate goal for myself?
- What kind of statement do I want my life to make?
And don’t hold back when you’re writing down your answers. Even if something seems goofy or unrealistic, write it down anyway. You want to get to your core desires, and they don’t always make logical sense at first.
It’s also important to assess any outside influences, such as peers, family, or media, that might have caused you to develop a vision that does not align with your inner desires. This is your life, and you should be the person calling the shots.
2. What Are Your Beliefs?
Our beliefs have a lot of influence on our lives. What we believe often informs our desires and actions, so it’s useful to reflect on your beliefs and how they impact the future you envision for yourself.
What you ultimately want is a vision that aligns with your beliefs, so you don’t experience internal conflict. When your beliefs are accounted for and incorporated in your vision, you can ensure a future that brings you true joy and inner peace.
3. What Are You Passionate About?
You likely already have a good idea of what you’re passionate about in life. And it goes without saying that your life vision should be centered around these passions.
To identify what passions are most important to you, consider questions like:
- What do I love doing the most?
- What gives me the deepest sense of fulfillment?
- What brings me the greatest feeling of joy?
And once you have your core passions written down, ask yourself how many of these are included in your life right now. If any are missing, start looking into how you can incorporate them into your life as soon as possible.
4. What Are your Talents?
Your talents are often closely related to the things you’re passionate about. But even when this isn’t true, your talents can still help you establish a vision for your life.
Take a closer look at the skills that come naturally to you. Is there a way you could use these skills to add value to your life? How could you take advantage of them to help manifest your life vision?
And on the flip side, what things are you NOT good at? This can also be a helpful indicator of what’s not right for you, and likely shouldn’t be a part of your vision.
5. What Matters Most to You?
Identifying your priorities and what matters most to you will highlight what’s essential for your life’s vision.
If your priority is family, your vision will likely involve having a family of your own. If your career matters most to you, then your vision will likely center around professional achievements.
The point is that by narrowing down what matters to you, you can better outline what you want your life to look like.
The following questions can help pinpoint your biggest priorities:
- What do I want to do?
- Who do I want to become?
- Where do I want to be?
What Is YOUR Vision for Your Life?
So, it’s time to get clear about what you want from life.
Take the questions and reflections we’ve discussed in this article to heart. And use them to develop a crystal-clear vision of your future – based firmly in your deepest desires and values.
This clarity will help you set more relevant goals to achieve your vision, and stay motivated when life tries to throw you a curveball.
And before you know it, your vision will start to become your living reality.
