How to Write a Personal Vision Statement

Contrary to popular belief, vision statements are not just restricted to companies and business organizations. Individuals also write personal vision statements from time to time, and they use this statement to remind themselves about where they're heading. Some people write vision statements so that they can put it as a header on their resume, whereas some people choose to do the same in order to refer to it from time to time, and remind themselves about what their personal goals in life are.

If you are choosing to write a personal vision statement for your life, then there are no hard and fast rules that you need to follow. You can word this statement in any manner that you may like, as long as the primary emotion behind the statement is clearly mentioned.

You can use this statement to motivate yourself when you are feeling discouraged, and you can also communicate this statement to potential employers when you are called for an interview. Either way, this will serve as a blueprint of sorts, and it will help you decide your future course of action in certain circumstances.

Most people write a personal vision statement in relation to their career and the professional goals that they have set for themselves. The statement comes in handy when interacting with employers, as already mentioned, and it also talks about the path that the individual must go down in order to meet his own professional expectations.

Some people also choose to write it with regards to their family, when they feel that certain relationships are strained. Since there are no universally accepted rules about such statements, it can be applicable to pretty much any situation that the individual finds himself in.

These tips and guidelines will mean different things to different people, and you can perceive them in any way that suits your present condition. You need not even adhere to these rules if you feel that they are irrelevant to you, but you must at least keep them in mind to a certain extent.

• You must always be honest with yourself when you are writing such statements. Since this statement is going to serve as a shining light to you and you alone, there is no point being dishonest with regards to it and over exaggerating certain circumstances.

The statement must not be more than 3-4 sentences long. Long and drawn-out statements are going to complicate matters when they are read, and it is important to remember that their primary focus is to pass on a motivational message as clearly and as quickly as possible.

• You can also include some values and principles that are important to you and are close to your heart. Reminding yourself about the sources from where you draw your inspiration will always be helpful when you read these statements in the future.

With the help of this statement, pen out some reasonable goals that you wish to achieve. This could include reaching a certain position in an organization, it could talk about spending more time with your family, and it could also talk about changing a certain attribute about yourself.

• Never lose sight of your vision statement. There is no point in writing down this statement and then losing it somewhere, so you must keep it at a place where it is clearly visible, so that the message that it conveys never leaves your mind.

• Stay committed to your vision statement no matter what. There are many events that could alter your mindset in the future, but it is important to come back to the vision statement and to remember the way you felt when you actually wrote it down.

The primary questions that your statement should answer are what your life is about, what principles define you, and what you should do in order to stay faithful to these principles that you have set down for yourself.

The whole purpose of this should be to inspire you whenever you read this statement in the future. Work related vision statements will be more professional in nature, and will clearly outline your work related goals and aspirations, but a personal vision statement is more private, and focuses more on your inner feelings and aspirations for leading a better life.