3 Amazingly Helpful Goal-Setting And Vision-Building Exercises
Everyone has heard about goals and how necessary it is to write them down. Instead of only thinking about them. But do we do that?
“Without vision, people perish.” /Proverbs/
“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” /Benjamin Franklin/
These are two quotes that show exactly why we need to work on our vision and set goals.
Our vision gives us direction and a framework of where we are going. However, goals help us to define what we need to do practically to achieve that vision.
Here are three exercises that have helped me to work on my vision and set goals:
1) 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year vision and goals
Start with one year. Imagine and write down how your life is different in one year.
Think about your personal life and professional life. Think about your financial situation and health and fitness.
What has changed during one year? Are you in a relationship or married if you have not been before?
What has improved in your relationship with your significant other?
What has changed in your career? Have you started a business?
Or what has changed in your business? How has it grown, and what goals have you achieved?
What are you doing to keep yourself fit and healthy?
How much are you earning each month? Either in your job or business.
Write in present form. As if it would be a reality at this exact moment.
For example, this is an excerpt from my one-year vision.
“November 2021: My business has grown to 6-figures. I earn $8,000 per month. It has been a successful year because I have worked hard and achieved many of my goals. I have been traveling to Canada, Israel, and Vienna. I have met the love of my life with who I can do exciting things together and work on our common business.”
Now do the same thing with imagining and writing down how your life looks like in three years, five years, and ten years.
However, it can be more challenging to think about five and ten years. Write down what you want to be a reality. Don’t think about how possible or rational it looks right now.
“If we dream big and believe in it, anything is possible.”
2) Be — Do — Have Exercise
In this exercise, you will be thinking about your future in three aspects: “Who you want to be?” “What you want to do?” and “Who you want to have?”
Write down ten affirmations for each section — in the present tense, as if that would be true already now.
“Be” is what type of characteristics you want to develop in yourself.
“Do” is what type of things you want to try or do in your life.
“Have” are the material (or non-material) possessions you wish to have.
For example:
Be: “I am selfless — I am giving more than I expect from others. I am generous in my finances, my time, my energy, positive words, and love for others. I always have more than I need of everything — money, time, love, so I am giving abundantly to others.”
Do: “I am driving a road-trip all through Highway 101 along the scenic Pacific Coast from Mexico to Canada with my husband.”
Have: “I have a large log house with huge windows near the seaside. It is spacious enough to host a lot of friends when I have home parties. There is a fireplace in a large living room where I can sit and read books, enjoying the view outside of the enormous window. I have a home library there. And a spacious kitchen.”
This exercise can be delightful, as you get to play a lot with what type of person you want to become and fun things you would like to do.
When I first tried this exercise, I achieved eight out of ten things from my “Who I want to be?” list in about one year. And a couple of other things from my “Do” and “Have” list in one year. Bigger things are still on their way.
3) Vision Casting
This exercise has been unique and very exciting. I heard it for the first time in a work seminar, and Dave Brown guided it. Dave Brown is a famous Southwestern Consulting coach — an Executive-Level Sales and Leadership Coach with a great attitude who can inspire anyone to dream bigger and aim higher.
In this exercise, you will be thinking about all the spheres of your life and asking yourself the following questions. Choose a quiet place where no one may interrupt you.
Write down the first thing that comes to your mind, and don’t let yourself be distracted.
Don’t allow yourself to think about what rationally would be possible or not, or about what other people would say.
These questions are not precisely the ones Dave Brown gave in his exercise — I wrote them down mainly from my memory and notes from Dave’s seminar.
- How does my perfect relationship with my significant other look like and feel?
- What type of house am I living in?
- What kind of job am I working/or what type of business I have?
- How are my relationships with friends?
- What is one thing how I want to make an impact on the world?
- How much money I have, and how am I spending it?
- How much and what charities I am helping?
- How do my mornings look? What are my morning routines?
- How does my spiritual life look?
- What new habits am I developing?
- How am I serving others?
- Where and how do I receive wisdom?
- What countries am I traveling to?
- Who are my business partners? What kind of relationships I have with my business partners?
- What people say about me publicly?
- What are my life-guiding principles?
- What type of people are in my life — the ones that are most often around?
- What is one characteristic that I did not have but I have developed during the years?
- What does excellence look like in my life?
After you have written a free flow answer to all these questions — that is your vision. Summarize the main things and write on a smaller piece of paper as “I am” and “I have” affirmations. Carry it with you in the wallet, and review often.
“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world. /Joel A. Barker/”
Summary
There are several ways how to work on your vision and set goals.
The most helpful for me has been exercises where I write down how my life looks like in one year.
And ten things of who I want to be, what I want to do and have in a couple of years or 10, 20 years.
And as the third exercise — an uninterrupted moment of writing down whatever comes into my mind as answers to all different questions about my life — business, relationships, quality of life, impact, finances, dream house, etc.
These exercises have helped me to dream big, get excited, find out what I truly want, and, most importantly, make decisions that align with my vision and goals.
Do you feel like you were meant for more in this world - to do what you love, create a successful business, live an authentic and exciting life, travel the world, make an impact, but you feel held back by fear, self-doubt, perfectionism, procrastination, and lack of a clear vision?
Let's jump on a consultation call because my 1: 1 coaching program, "90 Days to Confident and Courageous: You Roadmap to the Life & Business You Love," is meant to help you get from fear and being stuck to confidence and taking bold action so that you can build your dream life and business!
