A vision is a guiding principle for where we want to be in the future and what we ultimately want to do with our lives. A clear, well-defined vision helps us achieve more and live better than if we had no idea where we were going or what our life's purpose was. Without a strong sense of identity and direction, it can be challenging to live life without feeling confused, dissatisfied, or lost.

What is a vision?

If somebody asks you your vision in life, can you give a clear answer to the question? You might be thinking a vision is something that only applies to companies. A company's vision statement serves as a guide of where the company wants to be in the future. Having a clear vision gives the company an idea of what missions and objectives they need to accomplish to reach their ultimate goal. The same thing can also happen to an individual level. You can have a life vision for your personal life, and it can become the ultimate driver for everything that you will do in life. A vision is an idealized state of how you picture yourself in the future. It's something that is yet to happen, and you can make it a reality if you know what you are doing and for what reason. If you don't have a vision in life, it's never too late to create your vision anytime. Ideally, it's good to have a vision while you are still young as that will guide you in everything you will do in the future.

How do I create a clear vision in life?

Creating a vision for your life is as simple as taking a break and finding some time to make a vision. However, most of us are probably too busy with our lives that we might not even have the time to rest and imagine things. Forming your life's vision involves going into your mind and imagining the perfect, ideal future you want. Don't worry if your vision looks too grand to achieve or something that only exists in fiction. The point is to dream something big or ambitious, even if it's just a picture in your head. It doesn't hurt to dream big. You never know when your dream might just become a reality one day.

Thinking about a compelling vision is one thing but knowing what you want is another matter. So start by asking yourself what do you want and why. The question looks simple, but it can be challenging to answer if you do this vision-creating process when you are already an adult. As an adult, your working and social environment might have jaded your way of thinking and got you confined on what you can do. Breaking apart from your confines and the invisible walls of societal pressure is a good starting point to have a great vision.

Once you broaden your horizons, think of the following things to help you create your long-term vision.

• Identify the reason why you want certain things in your life.
• Focus on what you want and not what others want from you.
• Is there something you want to do or have more in your life?
• Go back to your childhood and think about the dreams and wishes you have back then.
• What are your values and beliefs in life?
• What is your passion?
• What are the skills, talents, and knowledge that you have?
• Thinks about the skills and traits that you would like to learn.
• If money is not an issue, what do you think you can achieve and do in life?
• If you are given three wishes, what will they be?
• How would you like other people to see and remember you?

Figure out the answers to your questions, think carefully about your ideal life, and imagine how you would look once you are in your perfect future. Then, write down the things you want to do in a journal or a vision board so you can look at something that can constantly remind you of your big vision.

I have a life vision now; what's next?

So you have your vision now; what should you do next? The next step is to enact plans on how you are going to make your dream a reality. Focusing on the big picture is important, but thinking about it too much can overwhelm you and make you lose track of things. Instead, pay attention to what you can do in smaller steps. Work backward from your long-term goals and see what you can achieve in a year, month, week, and day. If you envision your ultimate goal as something you can achieve in 20 years, work on what you can do per year, then move to things that can be accomplished per month, week, and day. The goal is to keep the vision alive by doing something that lets you fulfill smaller percentages of your vision until you hit its completion.

For example, let's say your vision is to create your business that will allow you to break free from working 9-to-5 every day, eventually granting you financial freedom and making your business grow and expand into a big one. To start your business, you need to have some funds. To do this, you can cut back on unnecessary expenses and start saving some amount every payday while working on your current job. While saving money, you can already begin to consult experts to know various things that will be crucial to your business, such as target markets, costs, paperwork, facility construction, products or services to sell, etc. The process is gradual until you hit your target amount. Once the funds are set, it's time to create and start your business. Once you place your business, your next goal will be to keep it rolling to become a success. Once the company becomes successful enough, you can then soon expand and create branches, and from there, you keep on getting closer to your vision until you finally nail it.

Having a vision can make your personal life better.

Many of us can arrive at that point in life where we feel lost and don't know what to do. You feel like you are a robot programmed to do things repeatedly. However, your entire life should not be very limiting. A vision aids in our personal growth by making us think of a bigger picture and accomplish the things to get there. Living life becomes more meaningful if our actions get guided in the right direction through our vision.

Our visions can change depending on what happens in our current lives. The important thing is to keep going daily and stay focused to fulfill that ultimate long-term goal called vision. Setbacks and failures can happen but moving forward is what's important.

No one is preventing you from dreaming, so aim high and feel proud of the craziest and perfect dream you can have. Achieving big goals can make us realize what we can do, and sometimes it's only your mind that prevents you from accomplishing big things.