Most of us operate with a certain vision and mission whether we know it or not. Unfortunately for many it's not the vision and mission they want. Take a moment to take stock of your current life. What do you do everyday? Aside from work and/or school, what else occupies your time? Family, relationships, your faith. The answers you provide will help you get started in conceptualizing your vision and mission out of the abstract. More, the answers will help you answer the next important question. What do you value? Write the first 5 things that come to mind. 

Here are mines:
  1. ​Time*
  2. Loyalty
  3. Authenticity
  4. Relationships
  5. My Faith

Before moving on take a look at your list. Are the items on there aligned with how you're living right now? I know my list includes things I definitely value, but not fully living at the moment, such as time. My schedule and punctuality does not reflect my value for my time and others' time, but we'll go over that in a later post. For now, just make an asterisk by the values that you aren't yet living.  

Alright, now we get to the real work.  First the dream. Your probably going to be the only one that sees this, so go wild. What's your dream? It doesn't have to be "realistic" or fully realized, you just need to have one. Your dream is your vision. Just get it down in writing.  The length is up to you.  Don't aim for perfection, just go with what comes to mind, what feels right. Once you've got that down read it over. Think about it. Breathe it in. Take a look at what you've written and take a look at your values. Are there any overlaps? Yes, No. Why? How can you align your vision and values in 2015. Rewrite your vision with the next 12 months in mind. I've shared mines below, but while you read it, it is imperative to remember that no two individuals are alike. 



How can you bring your vision to life over the next 12 months? That's our next step, creating the mission. Your mission statement says what you're going to do and how you're going to do it. It's more action-oriented and concrete than the vision statement. The format of a mission statement typically goes like this: 

"To [action verb] ...through..." 

Here's mines:



There you have it. Your very own vision and mission statement. Like any good business/organization these statements are only as good as you make them and use them. Tomorrow's post will help make that easier by transforming the vision and mission into actionable steps. 

Until then. Stay simply chic.

---Marie