How to define your big vision in life (including one exercise so you can write yours with ease!)
The most draining situation? Knowing that something is wrong - but not knowing what to do to change that. It´s often not a lack of motivation that keeps you stuck, but that you are missing direction in life. Because what to change if you are not sure what option to choose?! How can you move forwad if you have not defined your bigger picture in life yet?!I see this often with my clients - and I remember when I felt lost in my career: It is hard to take action if you have not decided on a direction forward.But how to find your direction in your career and life? How to develop a vision for your professional and personal life? How to make sure that you move forward towards feeling happier, fulfilled, and excited about your life?I've got something for you!Create a vision for your life (aka your direction forward)
What I see in my coaching practice is that one of the easiest tools to define a direction is to define a vision for your life and career. A life's vision is a powerful statement that captures what you believe in, how you see the world, and how you want to show up in your private life and your job. It captures your dreams, is closely connected to your values, and provides a direction for decisions, taking action, and starting to live differently. However, writing a vision for your life can feel overwhelming. It can feel daunting to name your dreams, and it can create a lot of pressure to describe what truly matters to you because of course, you want to make sure to incorporate it all.This is why I love working with the Designing Your Life Lifeview and Workview! It is a beautiful (and fun!) exercise that will provide you with all the clarity you need to know what your big vision in life and your career is! What is the Designing Your Life (DYL) Lifeview and Workview?
The Designing Your Life Lifeview and Workview is a tool to help you define your compass in life. It will invite you to ask the big questions: Why are you here? What is life about? Why does work matter? What moves the world for you? And it will help you get very clear about what you truly believe in, and what you envision your life and the world to be like.In other words: the DYL Lifeview and Workview is your manifesto. It is a declaration of your values, your beliefs, your hopes, and therefore the compass you need if you want to make changes to your career and life.If you do this exercise you'll come up with a clear description of what matters to you, and hence, the Designing Your Lifeview and Workview will support you to start moving into action and create the change you want to see!Why is the Designing Your Life Workview and Lifeview such a powerful tool?
There are several reasons why the DYL Lifeview and Lifeview work so well for many:It's fast and easy
Most people want to take their time for creating a vision for their lives, get to the bottom of things, and think thoroughly about their dreams and what matters to them. So they wait for the right moment to do this work, for a day when they are in “the right headspace”, and when things would flow naturally.I am always in favor of creating room for doing the deep work. To dedicate space for tapping into your goals and dreams, and to invest time in your personal development. If that is possible, please make use of those quiet, inspiring, spacious days to do this exercise.But in case you are busy, feel overwhelmed, or are simply frustrated because of your job situation, then don't wait for the perfect moment to do this work. This exercise does not require a lot of time! Take half an hour after work, during your lunch break, or before going to bed, and allow this exercise to guide you through this big, wonderful work!It reduces overthinking
Not only does this exercise not take a lot of time but the predefined, limited time frame also helps you to avoid overthinking. With a time limit in place, you´ll naturally capture what´s most important to you, without the pressure to write a perfect statement.You can trust that you'll identify your big themes and drivers and you can be sure that what you bring to paper will be good enough to provide direction for all that is to come!You'll tap into your subconscious mind
The questions that will guide you through this exercise are designed to help you access your subconscious mind quickly. Your subconscious mind is where your deepest knowledge lies, where your values are stored, and where you know who you truly are. In our busy day-to.day lives, you might have lost connection to this knowledge, so let´s bring it back to light and use it for this exercise!Ready? Let's go!How to write your vision in life? The Designing Your Life Workview and Lifeview exercise
The Designing Your Life Workview and Lifeview are two separate exercises but are closely connected. Both provide you with deep insights into what matters most to you in life and your career. However, I recommend you to treat these exercises separately, Don't try to connect the dots while writing, and don't try to make both exercises coherent. You'll naturally discover many overlaps - but while writing it is important to give the respective exercise all your attention and focus on the questions in front of you only.Instructions to write your DYL Lifeview and Workview
1 - PREPARATIONGet yourself comfortable and something to write. You can do the DYL Lifeview or Workview exercise either on paper or on your computer or mobile phone.2- TIMERSet a timer for 12 minutes for each exercise. This is 12 minutes to finish your Lifeview and 12 minutes to finish your Workview. Try to stay within this time span.3 - PROMPTS & MAXIMUM LENGHTUse the prompts below and start writing. The goal is to write not more than 150-250 words, that is half a page. Prompts to write your Designing Your Life Lifeview
A Lifeview addresses the critical defining values and perspectives that provide the basis for your understanding of life, that create the platform that interprets and organizes how you see and understand the world and assign order and meaning to it.These questions will help you write your Lifeview:Why are we here?What is the purpose of life? Of death?What is the relationship between the individual and others, family, country, and the world?What matters in this world? What is important?Is there a higher power, God, or something transcendent, and if so how does this impact your life?What role play joy, sorrow, justice, injustice, love, peace, strife?
Prompts to write your Designing Your Life Workview
A Workview will capture the critical issues related to what work means to you. It is not a job description, nor just a list of what you want from or out of your job, but a general statement of your view of work. It’s your definition of what good work is and what makes a career meaningful.These questions will help you write your Workview:Why work? What's work for?What defines good or purposeful work?What role does work play in regard to who you are? What the world is like?What does money have to do with it?What do joy, growth, perseverance, and fulfillment have to do with it?How does success relate to what is or isn’t purposeful, good work?
Tipps how to write your DYL Lifeview and Workview with ease
Here are a couple of tipps that will help you write your Lifeview and Workview with more ease:Stick to the limits
Try to stick to the time limitation of 12 minutes per exercise and also to the maximum length of half a page. This will help you to avoid overthinking and make sure you focus on capturing the truly important things. Say goodbye to your perfectionism
This exercise is not a master's thesis but is meant to be an easeful exercise, So say goodbye to your perfectionism and let your intuition flow! Don't stress too much but trust that all that matters will show up when you start writing. And in case you realize that you did forget something - you can always revise your Lifeview and Workview later and add the things that you want to be included.Make it your exercise
You can dedicate an evening to this exercise, or write it during your lunch break. You can focus on only a few questions, answer them all, or come up with your own prompts. This is your Lifeview and Workview - make this exercise yours and add, subtract, and tweak what's necessary to make it work for you. And if you wonder whether to write your Lifeview or Workview first: it does not matter. Start with what feels easier, more natural, or important to you, and let your intuition guide you.… and then what? How to use your DYL Workview and Lifeview?
This exercise will help you find clarity in regards to the big questions in life: Who am I? What is my purpose in life? What is work for? How do I see the world? The answers you wrote down are your compass in life, and your direction (this is also, why usually, there is a big overlap between your values and the Lifeview and Workview).But what can you do now with this information and how to make sure to put your Designing Your Life Workview and Lifeview into practice?Reflect
Take some moments and reflect on what you wrote. What did this exercise make you realize about your life and career? What new aspects did you discover? What elements of what you already know got confirmed, strengthened, and deepened? Also, have a look back and observe how the process of answering the questions made you feel. And how do you feel now, reading your DYL Lifeview and Workview? What does this tell you about yourself, life, and work?Own it
You are holding valuable, profound information in your hands. Own it! use it! How can you make your Lifeview and Workview a part of your daily life? What would help you remind you of what matters to you? Maybe you want to create a vision board or incorporate some of your findings into your meditation practice. What could you do to make this exercise tangible for you?Take action!
… and now the crucial part! Put your findings into action! Your Workview and Lifeview provide you with all the information you need to create a fulfilling, purposeful life. So what actions can you take to move closer to this vision? What small steps and tweaks ensure that you align more with what you want in your career and life? Is there something you can commit to doing every day to create the life you are dreaming of? ————
Hey, I am Laura a certified Designing Your Life Coach, recruitment professional, podcaster, multi-passionate career changer, and business owner, In my Designing Your (Work) Life 1:1 Coaching series, I will help you to gain clarity about what you want in life and your career, equip you with the tools you need to create a fulfilling (work) life and move through challenges along the way. Because this is not only about a job but about what life you want to live! 🌿
