Creating A Personal Wellness Vision: What Does Your Vision Look Like?
As I write this, we are staring into the eyes of a new year. In a couple days, 2022 will be in the rear-view mirror and within weeks, saying “2023” will more easily roll off our tongue. A new year can be a time of review, reflection, and renewal. I for one, always feel hopeful at the start of a new year. It’s like we get a clean slate that beckons us to begin anew.
How do you greet the new year? Anticipation or angst? Excitement or dread? Curiosity or Fear? It can be alarming to step into the unknown depths of the future. Or we can approach it with wonder and curiosity about where our path will take us.
It’s been shown time and time again, that “New Year’s Resolutions” are not the way to make sustainable change. They are always set with good intentions for positive change that will improve us in some way, however most resolutions are broken by the end of the first month. Why is that? Here are some likely reasons why:
Lack of proper planning.
Lack of structure and accountability.
We are not ready to change.
Lack of confidence to succeed.
The goal is too lofty, not realistic.
We may not be clear on what our motivators are. Why is this really important to you?
I invite you to try a different tactic this year…design a Wellness Vision for yourself! A Wellness Vision is a compelling statement or picture of who you are and what health-promoting behaviors you want to do consistently. Simply put, it’s a motivating energy that defines who, what, where, and how you want to Feel in your future. It acts as a “guiding light”, a “North Star”, or a “beacon” for us as we navigate our days. A Wellness Vision can benefit us by:
It can help guide us in our decision-making.
It can provide us with a sense of direction.
It can help us to determine our short-term and long-term goals.
It can provide us with motivation during tough times.
It can help us live a more balanced life (by looking at all aspects of our health and wellbeing). See this blog post for more about about about Wellness, Well-being, and The 8 Dimensions of Wellness.
A Wellness Vision can be a few sentences long, it can be an acronym, it can be a picture, it can be a collage...it can be whatever is most meaningful and accessible to you. For the last 10 years or so, I have created a Vision Board collage from magazines. When I’m done I hang it in my closet and this becomes my “compass” for the year.
As we create our own Personal Wellness Vision, we want to be sure it includes our interests, our skills, our strengths, our values, our motivators, and our goals. We also want the Vision to be building off our current successes, to stretch ourselves beyond our status-quo, and to state what we truly desire. We want it to feel as if it’s already happening, written in the present tense, so it becomes palpable.
I’m going to share my Personal Wellness Vision with you for 2023. This is subject to minor tweaks and a dynamic process that may evolve even further as time goes on. Here I go:
I am living a life in balance that includes self care for myself, time with family and friends, and career/building my new business. I am full of vitality and zest and remain curious and eager to learn. I get outdoors to exercise and am inspired by the natural beauty surrounding me most days of the week. I am grounded and secure in who I am and my confidence allows me to be successful. I am living authentically within my values and continue to grow personally and professionally. I am having FUN and saying YES to opportunities that come my way. I am patient with my family and pause to collect myself when I am feeling frustrated. My personal motivators include being a role model for my children (“leading by example”), being healthy for myself so I am “my best self” for my children, husband, and parents. I am motivated by the desire to have a career that is both successful and meaningful and contributes financially to our household.
Your turn! How about you?? Do you set a Wellness Vision for yourself? Intentions? Goals? What has been successful for you? As we embark on this new year, I invite you to consider creating a Personal Wellness Vision to be your compass for 2023!
