Now that you have set a sound foundation, you are ready to build your wellness vision and the goals that will support it. The focus is now on the definition of this wellness vision, the mental picture of where you want to be in terms of your overall wellness at a given point in time. We need that picture of your life in the viewfinder to be clear and well-defined. Today’s post is about how to bring clarity and focus to your wellness vision.  

Bringing Focus to the Big Picture  

First on today’s to-do list is to bring together those sentences that you summarized your areas of focus in step 1 into a single paragraph. It should paint a pretty accurate picture on how you intend to live your life with a healthy outlook on mental and physical wellness. Your goal is to take these thoughts and consolidate them into a single sentence or two that will be your wellness vision.  

Here’s the twist that you will be introducing into this task. You need to bring in the theme of looking forward from this point in time to a future point in time. I recommend twelve months from today. Remember that a vision is all about how you will utilize the desired behaviors to move your life to a better place by living them in the coming days, weeks and months.  

Step back and look for commonality in the sentences. There is a good chance that although they came from different areas of focus they are looking for similar if not identical results. Build the vision statement around the prevalent themes you have uncovered. I personally think this exercise is the most difficult of the entire wellness vision authoring process. It calls on you step back and look at the bigger picture without getting bogged down in the details. This is definitely a chore for people like me who are very detail oriented. Here are some things to keep in mind as you define your big picture.  

• Consider starting your wellness vision with “Twelve months from now I will…”
• Strive for a sentence that is brief, understandable, and clear.
• Your statement should be positive and forward looking.
• Reach for the stars! It should be challenging but achievable.
• Besides looking good, does is accurately reflect where you want to be?
• Don’t be afraid to rework the wording and structure.

Adding Support through Goals  

Congratulations! You have come a long way on your journey at this point. You have called on your inner self and talents to create a wellness vision. The process that you have followed is counter to today’s fast paced world. We often are forced to make quick decisions and must live by our actions, hoping that we chose correctly. Self reflection and evaluation has put you in a much better place to take control of your life and live it to the fullest.  

Goals are what support your vision and make it a reality. The good news is that the initial behaviors that you brainstormed in step one are probably the starting points for your goals. It’s likely that you just need to make them quantifiable, measurable, time based, and results oriented. Keep these four characteristics in mind as you wordsmith and refine your goals. Keeping the following tips in mind should make the job easier.  

• There is no set number of goals your need to set.
• Set a number of goals that allows you to achieve your wellness vision and not overwhelm you.
• Set small goals to make a grander goal easier to reach.
• Set goals that can be achieved throughout your timeframe.
• Know your limits. Avoid goals that are unobtainable and unreasonable.
• Examine each goal. “Does it help me reach my wellness vision”? If it doesn’t, then toss it.
• They MUST me quantifiable, measurable, time based, and results oriented.

You have now completed your wellness vision. You have set clearly defined goals to support it. The next steps are in your court. You need to live your wellness vision by achieving these goals. In the next post in this series, I’ll share my thoughts on keeping your goals on track and giving them a high priority in your life. Next in this series: Tips for Living your Wellness Vision.