The great Yogi Berra said, “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll likely end up somewhere else.”

With all that is going on, many of us may be walking through our lives in the dark. Are you feeling lost? Alone? Does it feel like you are just existing, having no clear vision or direction and maybe you are just going around in circles?

I have been using my down time to really find out more about myself, trying new things to love, and working to create a new mission and vision statement for myself and my family. Having a mission and vision statement can help you to get on track and remind you of your why when you find yourself falling off the rails.

Don’t know where to start? Here are some questions to start your exploring…

• What really matters to you in life?
• What would you like to have more of in your life?
• What do you want in your career…setting aside more money?
• What are your passions? What keeps you up at night?
• What do you want your relationships/friendships to be like?
• What are your talents? What makes you so special?
• What are your values? What issues lay heavy on your heart?
• What would you like to accomplish in this life?
• What would bring more joy and happiness to your life?
• What legacy would you like to leave behind?

Here are some ways that I have been working on finding a new vision for myself…

1. Forgiving myself and others. I know this seems strange but it is really difficult to buy into a new vision for your life if you are still nursing old woulds and punishing yourself for not-so-good decisions of the past. Spend some time alone and ask yourself if you are harboring resentment. Do you need to forgive someone/yourself? Are you holding on to old hurts that need to be healed? You have to be honest with yourself and do the work that it will take to release yourself from that “prison”. We all know that forgiveness is for you, not the other person. Do what you need to do whether it is speak to the people themselves and/or seek wise counsel, whoever that looks like for you, and start restoring your life by cleaning out what is no longer needed for you to grow.
2. Explore your passions and talents. What do you love to do? What are you especially good at? We were all made with God-given talents. When we discover what those talents are, we have to use them. It is our contribution to the world and it can make a big difference in the world no matter how small you think it is. Find out more about yourself and give attention and energy to those gifts and share them with the rest of us!
3. Spend time with people you admire. You may have to seek those people out or they may be right there in front of you. Ask them how they got where they are and why they decided to do what they do. Try to spend as much time with them as you can to learn more. Don’t do it to become them…take what they share and use what you can to become the best version of yourself.
4. What do you want your life to look like? You have to be able to see it before you get there. Think about that end goal. What type of person will you be? What will your life/family look like? What will your career/business look like? Picture it! See it in vivid details….heck, write it down in your journal. You will have something to look back on when the journey gets hard and motivate yourself to get back in the game.
5. Stop putting limits on yourself! I know you are doing it…I know I am…just about every day! Dream big! It is okay to do; we should be doing it. We cannot let fear or a lack of confidence in ourselves keep us from creating and working toward a vision for our lives. If your vision doesn’t scare you or make you uncomfortable, then you are not dreaming big enough. The dream should be scary, but exciting at the same time.
6. Get feedback and buy-in and/or find accountability from trusted sources. Ask people that are close to you and want to see you win if your vision is on point, particularly family. Seek out those that you know will encourage you and hold you accountable to stay on track.  Be bold enough to ask them to stay on you! Make changes along the way from the feedback that work for what you want to see happen and make sure you receive some buy-in.
7. Write a mission statement and list some action steps. Let’s think of one sentence statement that encapsulates your vision. Write it down on a whiteboard, in a planner or journal…somewhere that you will look at it often.
8. Plan backwards. A vision board! This is actually a valuable and practical strategy for making your vision a reality. Think about where you are now and where you want to be in the future. Revisit the thought from time to time. Create a vision board to make it plain and put it right in front of you. What steps will it take to get to your end goal?
9. Be flexible and understand that it is not all about you. Don’t be hard on yourself. Be open to the fact that your vision may need to be tweaked or changed a few times along the way and that circumstances may be different at some point. Some of us think highly of ourselves and know that we are very important people….however, the world does not revolve around us.

Make sure that your vision makes a better life for you and blesses others in the process. Think of your vision as a living thing….