I’m a biiiiiig fan journaling. I always have been. I don’t know how or when I discovered it about myself, but journaling is the easiest way I can clear my mind. There’s something about getting thoughts onto paper that make them become more manageable and…well, real. I always have a daily journal that I write in almost every morning (things I’m praying for, gratitudes, etc.), but then I also have a separate vision journal that I tap into just about 1-2 times a month.
what’s a vision journal?
My vision journal is where I (wait for it) write about my vision for the future. It’s kind of a “bigger picture” journal where I write lists that help me to become more self aware of a) who I am and what I like/don’t like and b) what I want my future to look like. More practically speaking, this is how my vision journal is broken down:
top prayers for the year
These are the biggity-big ones, so there’s usually only 3-5 per year.
“Gracie fully alive”
This is a list of the things that bring me the most fulfillment in life. Some are deep, others are silly little things like how I like my morning coffee. Make this list as exhaustive as possible – write it all out – try to even think of things you never really acknowledged that you love. The reason for making this list is to help you shape your dreams and goals. We can often come up with goals for our lives based on what we *think* we should do or want, but when we’re self aware of our true selves, we can have better vision for the future.
reminders: personal growth
This is a list of all of the things you’ve learned about yourself over the years. If you read it all together, it would be like your mission statement. For example, a couple of mine are:
- life is never going to be perfectly organized
- remember how faithful God has been, and know He’ll do it again
- get adequate sleep
Get the idea? Once again, make this list exhaustive! It’s so helpful to refer back to when you’re feeling down or frustrated with life…like giving yourself a pep talk, almost.
reminders: professional growth
Same idea here, but specifically to help you with future professional decisions. Whenever I have a work-related decision, I read this list and it ALWAYS helps me decide if an opportunity is one I should say “yes” or “no” to. I feel like professional decisions are the ones we most often make based on what we think we’re supposed to, when in reality we should be tapping into our self-awareness, and also if those decisions lead us to the work/life we actually want.
career goals
- 6 months – most actionable goals
- 1 year – start planning into now
- 5+ years – the big things like writing a book, winning an award, etc. to have in the back of your mind
other goal-related lists you may or may not want to include
- family – what do you want yours to look like?
- experiences – “bucket list” sort of things
- physical goals – mine is empty for this hahaha
- financial goals – not just making $ but saving for your children, donating, etc.
- travel goals
monthly intentions
Last but not least I try to make specific, smaller goals for each month. I much prefer making monthly intentions over yearly ones because I find myself much more likely to stick to them. I try to keep them to just 3 so I can really focus on them.
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Keeping a vision journal has been really life-changing for me, so I hope you find it helpful too. If you use these tips / start a vision journal of your own, let me know! I’d love to hear how you like it. xoxo GG
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This was fantastic thank u for sharing!