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When you look at your future, what do you see? Do you see yourself growing up and becoming the person you have always wanted to be? Do you have clearly defined goals and purposes to achieve?
Making a vision for yourself can be the first level to find your life goal realize your true potential in your life. It is one thing to believe that you have a promising future and quite another to visualize it with absolute clarity and turn it into a great reality.
Albert Einstein believed in visualization. He says:
“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions”
The 9 steps you will learn today will allow you to define your goals and dreams to develop the motivation and strength you need to achieve them.
Living a purposeful life will motivate you to get up each morning and focus all your energy. Having a purpose in your life can help you feel that your routines and habits are meaningful and important.
A series of scientific studies conducted in 2014 resolved that developing a purpose-based mindset improves academic results.
This mindset improved self-regulation, persistence, grade point average, and the number of times students were willing to complete assignments and study for tests.
In psychology, having a purpose is having the intention to achieve something that is personally meaningful, and that includes the world beyond yourself.
If you don’t feel fulfilled or happy with your life, you always have the option of evaluating your purpose and determining what actions you need to take to fulfill it.
It is never too late to start living a life that makes sense and brings you closer to achieving happiness and fulfillment. Take the following steps to help you define a life vision and fulfill a meaningful purpose. Stay with Mindsetopia!
How To Define Your Goals And Life Purposes In 9 Steps
1. Visualize the final result you want to achieve
Instead of just dreaming about how you would like your life to be, visualize yourself as if you are already in the future, celebrating your achievements and satisfaction that you have already achieved.
Thinking this way can help you focus your vision and keep you on the right track.
Imagine yourself in old age. What kind of life would you have liked to live?
Would you be satisfied with a life in which you have spent most of your time traveling around the world but not necessarily enjoying having a family? Or would you feel proud and whole if you had a happy and healthy family?
Thinking about issues like getting old and what kind of legacy you will leave the world is not easy. In fact, it would be challenging if you have lost someone close or if you or a loved one are facing a life-threatening illness.
If you are looking for visualization techniques then this video from Master Sri Akarshana youtube channel can help you:
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But questioning the meaning of life and accepting that no one lives forever will allow you to understand that your presence leaves a lasting impact on the world and that the decision of what you want to do with your life is in your hands.
Define your priorities and values on which you want to focus your vision of life, and consider how you can leave a lasting and positive impact on the people around you.
You don’t have to have a memorial in your honour to leave a lasting legacy. It is enough to make a positive and meaningful difference through showing kindness, humour, service to others, and love.
Your good deeds, from sharing a piece of knowledge or skill with someone to helping a loved one through difficult times, can have a significant impact, both in your life and in the lives of others.
2. Find the meaning of your life
Having a meaning or purpose increases the quality of life and can even help you live longer.
A large body of scientific research has found that having the feeling that life has meaning is associated with many positive outcomes for a person’s health.
A new study in older adults published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences goes even further; It has revealed that the sense of living a life worth living seems to be positively tied to almost every aspect of our lives, not just health.
In this study, people were followed over time and found that the more meaning they find, the more positive changes they experience in their personal life, relationships, work, or business.
The feeling that life has meaning can come from many sources: from work, when you feel it is worth it, from affective relationships, from hobbies, from carrying out meaningful projects, or even from regularly enjoying the sunset.
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Think about how you can positively impact yourself, others, and the environment while learning many new skills; this combination of elements can give a deep meaning to your life.
Of course, this may require you to try several different activities to identify how you feel that your abilities and satisfaction are shown to the maximum.
If you like painting, you can get some paintbrushes or take a class and see how you feel about it. Or maybe you are interested in helping others and are good with communication, then try tutoring to see if teaching helps you feel fulfilled.
Remember that each person has different priorities; Finding out what’s important to you is essential to living a meaningful life.
If you are looking for a useful podcast about the meaning of life then this Tristan Dyln Tano podcast can help you:
3. Write a personal vision statement
By taking the time to write a personal vision, you can make better decisions to keep you on the right track throughout your life. Additionally, you will be able to work within what is known as the balance cycle rather than a stress cycle.
The balance cycle consists of performing activities that allow you to obtain satisfaction and positive long-term results. By defining a specific goal and reaching it, you will feel the drive and motivation to set yourself an even higher purpose.
This way, you will be more satisfied, you will be more productive, and you will experience more meaning in your life.
On the other hand, people who live without a personal vision can end up living under a lot of stress because they spend a lot of their free time doing activities that can give them a feeling of immediate satisfaction and do not produce lasting happiness.
Being caught in the cycle of stress, people experience exhaustion and feel that all their efforts are wasted.
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To write a personal vision statement, write two or three paragraphs describing your values, natural abilities, and goals.
This is an example of a personal vision that can give you a better idea to establish your own statement:
“I will live each day as if I have all the power and influence necessary to make the world a beautiful place. By listening and serving others, I will learn new ideas and gain different perspectives. I will strive to master life’s challenges by increasing my skills, the circle of influence, and reducing the emphasis on those areas of concern over which I have no control.
I will behave in such a way that I become a light, not an obstacle, for those who choose to follow or guide me. I will trust my dreams and avoid falling into vice and excess, not to be a prisoner of anything. I will use my private victories selflessly trying to create value for others. The pursuit of excellence will determine the options you decide to pursue and the paths you choose to travel. I will not expect more from others than I expect from myself.
I will look for new sources of inspiration and growth in nature, family, literature, and new knowledge. I will show love instead of waiting for love. Today I choose to focus on being effective rather than efficient. Today I choose to make a difference in this world.”
4. Follow your passion and your values
A big part of living a life of purpose is doing what you are passionate about. Ask yourself and answer in as much detail as possible: «What do I like to do? What makes me happy? What activity causes you to lose track of time?
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Art-related activities like painting, singing, or writing can help you explore your personality.
By spending time on these activities, you may find that you are actually passionate about a different career or job than you currently have.
Or maybe you find that you are really passionate about community service and decide to focus your career on serving other people. Living by this passion can be more satisfying for you, even if you don’t make as much money.
It is important to evaluate what you like to do, what you currently do, and what you need to change your life to a life with more meaning. Some questions that can help you are:
- When have you been happiest in your life?
- What has made you really proud of yourself?
- What qualities do you most admire in other people?
- What activity makes you feel really alive and with joy?
- How happy do you feel every day?
- If you had one week to live, how would you spend that week?
- If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?
- What change could make your life happier?
The activities you are really passionate about are those you like to do, even without getting paid to do them, and you will likely lose track of time by doing these activities.
The scientist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi established the term “flow,” which in psychology is the state that an individual reaches when he is totally focused on the activity he is doing, to the point where his actions and thoughts flow without pause.
It would be so interesting to tell you that one of the biggest animation maker studios called Pixar has used this “flow” in its latest and amazing animation called Soul. I really recommend watching it.
So, Make a list of accomplishments and goals that are important to you, and then consider whether the way you are living your life aligns to bring you closer to them.
If not, how could you restructure your activities so that the actions you take on a daily basis bring you closer and closer to achieving the important things to you?
Try to integrate what you like into your daily life, even in small amounts. Just remember that you may not find an ideal situation. In our world today, we all have to find a source of income to cover our basic needs.
Even so, you can carry out meaningful projects in the hours of free time that many spend on television, social networks, or video games. Because we know that these activities, carried out in excess, eat up all your free time and bring you problems instead of satisfactions in life.
5. Find ways to help others using your talents and abilities
The Dalai Lama said,
“Compassion is what makes our lives meaningful.”
Sometimes this is easy to do, but many times it is challenging.
When you see someone suffering or doing something that bothers you, try to put yourself in their place.
Think about how you would feel or behave if you were facing the same situation as that person. Perhaps by doing this, you will be encouraged to take action, either by trying to help the person or by showing understanding for them.
Through various scientific investigations, it has been established that compassionate actions activate the pleasure center in your brain, causing you to feel good every time you help someone.
Additionally, compassionate people are also best friends, parents, and spouses, so developing compassion can also help you improve your relationships.
You can be compassionate in many ways. You can donate money, talents, knowledge, or a few minutes of your time to someone in need.
However, keep in mind that you cannot donate an hour of your time once a year and expect to get all the positive results that we are talking about.
Research shows that you need to be compassionate regularly.
Try to do something that you like voluntarily. For example, if you love animals, volunteer as often as you can at your local animal shelter. If you love kids, see if you can volunteer at a nursing home or community center.
Volunteering is one of the best ways to find your passion in life and helps you gain a clearer perspective.
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6. Set clear and meaningful goals
Having goals in your life can help you feel like you are living a life with purpose.
You just have to set clear goals and work towards them. Write down your goals and post them somewhere where you can see them, review them frequently, and mark them as you achieve them.
You can write immediate goals like “learn to bake a cake from scratch” or “learn the basics of salsa dancing.” You can also write long-term goals like “take an online application programming course” or “learn to play the guitar.”
Think of something you’ve always wanted to do. Maybe you want to get into the habit of running or writing a novel. Regardless of what it is, setting a goal to fulfill your dream will help you feel like you have a purpose.
If you have big goals, it’s essential to break down that big goal into smaller, more specific, and manageable goals. There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that breaking a big goal down into smaller, actionable steps makes you more likely to achieve it.
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7. Record specific actions on your vision board
In one study, researchers at the University of California asked a group of students to visualize themselves scoring very well on a test and asked another group to imagine themselves studying for the test.
Students who visualized themselves getting a good grade scored lower on the test. However, students who visualized themselves studying spent more time preparing for the exam and ultimately scored much better.
That is just one example. Many studies show that athletes, students, and musicians perform better when they visualize themselves taking the steps necessary to succeed than when they only visualize success.
This means that it is best to focus on the process and let the results come to you accordingly.
Regardless of whether your goals are big or small, it is vital to identify short-term action steps to start taking right now and translate them onto your dream board.
By turning your abstract dreams and goals into specific actions that you can take every day, you will achieve greater clarity to move forward and make them come true.
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For example, change the goal from “write a book” to “write for half an hour every day.” Divide a goal like “becoming a dentist” into steps, such as “studying every day to maintain my grades,” “doing an internship at a dentist’s office,” and “taking a preparation course to pass the entrance exam. dental college. “
By visualizing yourself taking the steps you need to be successful, you have a better chance of taking them. Imagine yourself taking care of your diet, exercising, studying thoroughly, and working on your professional projects.
The way you think matters: it affects how you feel and how you behave. But just thinking and staring at a dream board on the wall will not change your life. Positive thinking only works when combined with the positive action you take today.
8. Align every aspect of your life with your personal purpose
Martin Luther King Jr. once said:
“Whatever Your Life’s Work Is, Do It Well.”
If you have a job that doesn’t seem meaningful to you, then focus on being the best at your job. This, in itself, can add meaning because it requires you to go to work each day with a goal in mind.
You can also try to find different ways that your work allows you to help others or even yourself.
For example, if you work in daycare, think that you are helping not only the children you care for but also the children’s families, giving them time to go to work or attend to their personal affairs.
If you are a teacher, you not only help students to learn, but you also learn a lot about different subjects.
Plan your daily activities so that you can better focus and apply your talents and abilities in your day-to-day life.
You may have to limit yourself to checking your social media only once or twice a day instead of every thirty minutes. But some distractions are worth putting aside so you can put your energy into the things that you are genuinely passionate about.
Eliminate more and more distracting activities from your daily routine, and over time, you will achieve a more simplified daily routine, which will help you feel that you are living with a purpose and not just busy doing many nonsensical things.
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9. Make the necessary changes happen
Reflecting on your daily habits requires you to be honest with yourself.
Suppose you decide that what you really want to do with your life is something that requires significant changes (for example, traveling the world, investing your savings in studying a new career, or keeping the same job to open an online business). In that case, you really have to try to look beyond fear.
Fear often prevents us from doing what we want to do.
As Nelson Mandela says:
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear”
Building confidence and acknowledging your fears can help you take courage. Perhaps you have already tried to change your attitude about your current job, to no avail.
It may be time you looked for other job options. But before ending up on another job that won’t make sense to you either, take the time to write down the things you value in life.
People seek to change careers for many different reasons. Your professional goals or values may change over time; You may have discovered new interests you would like to incorporate or want more flexible hours.
Before deciding, it is vital that you carefully evaluate your current situation to explore career options so that you decide if your career needs to be renewed and choose a more satisfying profession.
Sometimes it is best to try a new activity or hobby in your free time and determine if you want to make a significant change in your life.
If you want to know how to motivate yourself to change your behaviour then this video from TEDx Talks youtube channel can help you:
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→ Conclusion
Share with us what other methods have helped you define your vision of life?
A clear personal vision integrates your interests, personality, values, goals, abilities, experience, culture, and development stage in your adult life. There are many factors!
But having this personal vision will give you the necessary guidance so that you make the right decisions every day that will bring you closer to achieving your ideals, purposes, and long-term goals.
It is not about making a definite plan. The best thing is to live in the moment and enjoy every activity you do in your day today.
Remember that the future is uncertain, and everything can change.
Once you establish a life purpose, you must be open to taking alternate paths when necessary and shaping your vision as you move forward, without losing sight of your ultimate goal.
Clearly define the meaningful purpose that will guide you from now on. Because living with intention and having a clear vision will allow you to achieve remarkable results in all areas of your life.