Casting a Vision in 2020
It’s 2020!! Wow, a new decade. That’s a big deal ladies! If your last 10 years were anything like mine, there were amazing highs and some really tough lows. The good news is that those days are behind us. Through it all, I’m more resilient, confident and hopeful for the future.
That said I don’t want to go through the 2020s aimlessly. I want to be conscious about living my life purposefully, which brings me to casting a vision for the New Year.
Some of us might be familiar with Vision statements because of our places of employment. Most companies have a Vision statement. For our purposes though, let’s start by defining the term Vision statement. According to ProjectManager.com, a vision statement is a document that states the current and future objectives of an organization. Since you’re writing a vision statement for yourself, it should state YOUR current and future objectives. It should answer the basic, but very loaded question of: What do you want out of your life this year? This was no easy task for me. Our lives are so complex, with so many obligations, commitments and desires that it can be a daunting task to pinpoint exactly what you want this year. On top of that, “a good vision statement should be short, simple, specific to you, leave nothing open to interpretation… and have some ambition.”* So, not only do you have to take the time to determine what things are the most important to you, but you also need to make your statement short and sweet. Again, this is no easy task.
To help me sort through my weeds, I identified my 3 priorities: Faith, Family and Mentoring. I then thought about what I wanted to do with each of these priorities for 2020.
Faith: I’m on a daily quest to strengthen my relationship with God.
Family: I want to be a financial partner to my husband again. (If you’ve been listening to Dame Talk, you know that I’ve been unemployed for over a year now.)
Mentoring: I truly believe that making a difference in girls and younger women’s lives is why I was put here on this Earth. So my priority for mentoring for 2020 is to do more of it, especially with young professionals.
After noodling around with my thoughts, I came up with this Vision statement: To be an honest, kind, successful, professional role model that relentlessly gives back to girls and young women.
I even took a stab at my Mission statement (i.e., how I’m going to accomplish my Vision), which is: To be a fit, healthy, strong, knowledgeable Woman of Faith committed to my family and the mentorship of girls and young women.
So, does it meet the requirements of a good Vision statement? Let’s see. Is it:
Short – 18 words might be a little too long. I do have several adjectives there. Maybe I don’t need them….
Simple – Check
Specific to me – Absolutely
Leave nothing to interpretation – Sure
Have some ambition – Yes, I’m ready for my ideal job!
This was my 1st pass at it, so I know it still needs some work. But, truthfully, it’s pretty darn close.
So, roll up your sleeves and commit 30 minutes to working on your Vision statement for 2020. You’re worth it. And, once you’re done, write or print it out and put it somewhere that you will see it and recommit to it daily. (The refrigerator or bathroom mirror are good options.) This will help you align your daily actions with your vision.
Here’s to a Vision-focused 2020!
Dame Arnisha
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