 Be Your
Own Coach - Creating a Future Vision of Your Life - Part 3
By Maureen Motter-Hogdson & Judy Turner
A man was passing by a work site and saw three
bricklayers. He approached the first and
asked, “What are you doing?” The man answered, “Making a living.” He
asked the second man the same question, to which he replied, “Laying bricks.” He
inquired the same of the third worker, and the man responded, “Building a
cathedral.” What a difference a clearly articulated vision can make!
How do you get clearer on your future vision? Develop a mental picture
of what your ideal life would look like a year from now. What would you like to have? What
would you like to be doing? Does your vision include raising children? Writing a book?
Owning your own business? Living on a beach? Helping others with some development in their
lives?
Below are a number of questions adapted from many sources that should
encourage you to think and dream. Find a place without distractions to quietly reflect
your answers, and write them down. Discuss your responses with someone you trust as this
often helps to become clearer on your vision.
•What are you doing?
•Where are you living, and with whom?
•How do you spend your days?
•What values are you honouring?
•What is your contribution to the community/world?
Your personal vision is what you want to be, do, feel, think, own,
associate with, and impact by some date in the future. Visioning helps you to define your
aspirations and dreams, and gives you something from which to map a plan.
Here is an example of a vision statement: I am more physically fit and
active, almost finished with my formal education, actively involved in two close personal
relationships, serving my community as a volunteer, having fun every day, and making at
least 75% more money now, doing work that I love.
These important components are part of your personal and future vision:
•Your most important values.
•Things you really enjoy doing.
•The two best moments of your past week.
•Three things you would do if you won the lottery.
•Issues or causes you care deeply about.
•Things you can do at the ‘good to excellent’ level.
•What you would like to stop doing.
We have created a simple but powerful formula to help you
identify your own deeply held values - what matters most in your life - and then create a
vision and strategy to live them to the fullest. This formula consists of five valuable
steps:
1) Discover Your Values. Clarifying your values is not
a choice or a decision making process…it is not listening to the ‘should
have’ gremlin. It’s discovering what matters most to you. When values are being
fully honoured, life is magical and you are more true to yourself.
2) Create a Vision. Peter Senge defines vision as
“what you want to create of yourself and the world around you.” Writing down a
vision is the first step to making it real. Your brain cannot differentiate between what
is ‘imagined’ and what is ‘real’.
3) Map a Plan. By organizing your values and recognizing
their order of importance, you can begin to develop a plan of how to live your vision.
4) Move Into Action. Finally, you must act on that
plan, bringing the new vision of yourself into your home, workplace, and the community
around you.
5) Be Accountable for Your Actions. Take
responsibility for your life. Create support to help you stay accountable to yourself.
Taking action is the most important step.
Your vision is only a dream until you write it down, commit to it, and
start to plan the steps that will move you forward. Get excited about it, talk about it,
dream about it, write it down, and you will soon begin to own it and make it happen! You
can coach yourself to live a more juicy and rewarding life.
Maureen Motter-Hodgson & Judy Turner are Certified
Professional Co-active Coaches trained through The Coaches Training Institute, (CTI). They
co-facilitate a one-day workshop entitled ‘Be Your Own Coach.’ Contact Judy at
403.720.2715 or Maureen at 403.217.0564 or visit www.radiantcoaching.com or www.kairoscoaching.com |
