Dr. Terry McVannel Erwin
Licensed Mental Health Counselor, #8591 Qualified Supervisor National Certified Counselor, #78801 Member, American Counseling Association, #6139381 _______________________________________________________________ (239) 247-5060 Home www.mycounselor.net
Your Personal Vision, Purpose, and Mission Statement Identifying Your Strengths Your vision needs to reflect your strengths and talents. Your strengths and talents are about who you are. What is special about you? What makes you happy? What do you love about yourself? What are you best at? Complete the following statements about yourself: My strengths and talents are:__________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ What I believe is special or distinct about me:____________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ What I love most about myself:________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ Orienting Around Your Integrity You should place those points of integrity, those principles and values you hold most dear, at the core of your personal vision. Points of integrity are not the principles you think you should hold, instead, they are the principles you already stand for, that give your life and work meaning. Here is a list of words that signify points of integrity:
Sometimes all we need is a listening ear, a helping hand and a caring heart to find balance in our lives.
Dr. Terry McVannel Erwin
Licensed Mental Health Counselor, #8591 Qualified Supervisor National Certified Counselor, #78801 Member, American Counseling Association, #6139381 _______________________________________________________________ (239) 247-5060 Home www.mycounselor.net
health strength fun sexuality sensuality love kindness grace understanding beauty adventure courage risk leadership inspiration change honesty patience
fairness compassion freedom spirituality service sacredness security home family community partnership growth enlightenment happiness joy support contribution advocacy
respect power influence honor trust creativity invention openness imagination planning building challenge discovery learning self-expression feelings nature action
rules persuasion encouragement mastering winning accomplishment peace quiet calm inner strength intuition intellect play truth nurture wholeness safety vitality
Look at the points of integrity listed above. Pick your top three. If you have one that is not listed, write it in: 1.____________________________ 2.____________________________ 3.____________________________ Using Your Imagination The next resource that you need in order to create your vision is your creative imagination. The following exercise is designed to stimulate your creativity and expand your awareness of what may be possible for you in your life. Follow the exercise exactly as it is written. You may ask someone to read it to you, while you close your eyes, or tape record your own voice reading the instructions. Give yourself enough time to relax before you begin the exercise. Breathe easily. Then close your eyes and allow the vision to form in your mind. Once you have finished the exercise, take some time and write your impressions below. Let yourself begin to imagine a picture of your ideal life. If you don’t see a picture, allow a felt sense of your life to come to mind. Start by imaging your life in the future, a year or two from today. As this vision evolves, let it take its own shape and form. What you see may surprise you. It is fine if this happens. Let your imagination work for you here. See or sense your life as an observer, looking at it from the outside. You may see specifics or just have an overall impression. Either one is fine. Take the time to allow a clear awareness of your future life to occur to you.
Sometimes all we need is a listening ear, a helping hand and a caring heart to find balance in our lives.
Dr. Terry McVannel Erwin
Licensed Mental Health Counselor, #8591 Qualified Supervisor National Certified Counselor, #78801 Member, American Counseling Association, #6139381 _______________________________________________________________ (239) 247-5060 Home www.mycounselor.net
In this vision of your life, see that your life flourishes because your true strengths and talents are evident, to yourself and others. Your life allows your strengths and passions to shine through your work. As a result, your life attracts those people you most want to have in your life. See that your life is based on the most important points of your personal integrity. Allow those points of integrity to be at the core of your visions. Your life fits within your best understanding of the future, reflects your unique strengths and talents, and is orientated around your points of integrity. As you imagine this vision, let it be big and compelling enough so that you feel very drawn to it. Let your vision encompass all of this, imagining a life that is fulfilling and extremely energizing for you. Now I want you to experiment seeing or sensing this vision with your eyes open. Open your eyes and still retain a strong awareness of this vision. Now close your eyes and take a better look. This time I want you to walk into the vision and notice how it feels to be inside it. Adapt and adjust anything necessary so that you resonate with the look, feel, and sound of being inside your life. Notice where you have located this vision in your imagination. Is it out in space, far away from you? To the right or to the left? Is it in your mind’s eye? Imagine relocating it and placing it close to your heart. Notice how it feels to have it at the center of your chest. Hold the vision in your heart. Now open your eyes, still holding it in your heart. This is how it feels to have a vision aligned with your own heart. Once you complete the visualization, answer the following questions: What did you see or sense?____________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ What pleases you about this vision?_____________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ What disturbs you about this vision?____________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ What surprises you about this vision?_______________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________
Sometimes all we need is a listening ear, a helping hand and a caring heart to find balance in our lives.
Dr. Terry McVannel Erwin
Licensed Mental Health Counselor, #8591 Qualified Supervisor National Certified Counselor, #78801 Member, American Counseling Association, #6139381 _______________________________________________________________ (239) 247-5060 Home www.mycounselor.net
Your Vision Statement Having a written vision, purpose, and mission statement can keep your life focused. The first part of the statement, the vision statement, is a brief sentence or two at most that sums up what you see as being possible. Complete the following vision statement: The vision I see for my future life is:____________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ Your Purpose Statement The purpose statement is a few sentences that speak to who you will need to become to fulfill your vision. You may need to learn some new skills and stretch beyond your comfort zone. The purpose statement is a personalgrowth component inherent in the vision process. A powerful vision will call you to become more than you are right now. Complete the following purpose statement: The changes I will make within myself to fulfill this vision are:_______________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ Your Mission Statement The mission statement is a list of the practical, strategic steps that will take your vision from dream to reality. Those strategic steps should include the ways you wish to have your counselor help you in this process. Complete the following mission statement: The specific steps I will take to make this vision a reality are:________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________
Sometimes all we need is a listening ear, a helping hand and a caring heart to find balance in our lives.
Dr. Terry McVannel Erwin
Licensed Mental Health Counselor, #8591 Qualified Supervisor National Certified Counselor, #78801 Member, American Counseling Association, #6139381 _______________________________________________________________ (239) 247-5060 Home www.mycounselor.net
I hope that your vision calls to you, pulling you forward to make positive, wonderful changes in your life. Making your vision a reality will depend on your ability to follow through on the steps and actions you listed in your mission statement. Are you willing to sign a contract with your counselor indicating that—with the help of your counselor—you will begin the work necessary to achieve this vision of your future life? Your counselor will review your vision, purpose, and mission statement with you and sign off on them to show her willingness to support you in your endeavors. Client’s Signature:__________________________________________________ Date:___________________ Counselor’s Signature:_______________________________________________ Date:___________________
Adapted from: Building your Ideal Private Practice by Lynn Grodski
Sometimes all we need is a listening ear, a helping hand and a caring heart to find balance in our lives.