“So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” – Psalm 90:12 (ESV)

Our lives can be described as a trip. We are somewhere now, and our trip will end at some point. The question that we face is, when we reach the end of this trip where do we hope to be and what will we have experienced along the way? Are we drifting casually toward that destination or purposefully? A Life Purpose Statement and our Core Values are signposts along the way that keep us on course. But a Life Vision Statement is another part of guiding our life priorities and choices.

When you reach the end of your time on earth, what impact will you have made and on whom? How will you be remembered? What will be your legacy? (Thinking here in much broader terms than the financial industry’s definition.) A life plan allows you to be more intentional in defining and determining the impact that you will have.

At my father-in-law’s funeral and the visitation, I got a first-hand view of the legacy of a man who I greatly admired. His family, his church family, many of his work colleagues, and others who had seen and benefited from his life bore witness to the way that he had lived and the legacy that he left behind. I heard stories of changed lives, successful careers, and so much more that were largely or at least in part attributed to the influence and guidance that he had provided.

In thinking about your life vision or life goals, you might answer the following questions:

• How do I hope to be remembered?
• What is the ultimate vision for my life?
• What do I want my life to be about?
• What impact do I hope to have on the world and on people, thinking about some specific people?
• If there were no limits, what would be possible for my life?
• What do I want for each area of my life?
• What will I accomplish?

There are different ways to describe your Life Vision. One very effective way is to write the eulogy that you would hope to be spoken by those important people in your life at your funeral. Who are the people on whom you hope to have an impact? For those closest to you, specifically name them. For groups such as work colleagues, you might classify them together. For the various people or groups, what impact do you hope that you will have had on their lives, describing this legacy in specific terms. In other words, not “he/she was a good person” or “he/she influenced my life” but rather “____ helped me in these three specific ways: ____, ____, and ______”

This article is part of a series of articles describing the Life Planning process. To see the other articles in the series, click here. While individuals are welcome to complete this process on their own, partnering with a Life Coach is often more effective. Please contact us for more information.