Why every Assistant should have their own personal vision statement
What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?
A great question, isn’t it?
This is where I started when I created my personal vision statement. I love Practically Perfect PA, and I find the work rewarding, but I have been doing this for eight years, and it was time to stop for a minute and take the time to think about what I wanted to achieve for me and for Practically Perfect PA going forward.
So, I started to put together a clear strategy for the business and a personal vision statement for me. Completing this work made me realise why every Assistant should have their personal vision statement. They are so valuable in many ways, and I want to show you how to put them together and why they will help you focus on your career goals.
What is a personal vision statement?
Using these fantastic articles from The Balance Careers, I pulled together a strategic document for Practically Perfect PA and my personal vision statement. This is how The Balance Career describes a personal vision statement:
Your personal vision statement guides your life and provides the direction necessary to chart the course of your days and the choices you make about your career. Think of your personal vision statement as the light shining in the darkness that illuminates your life path.
Your vision statement doesn’t have to be a lengthy document, it can be a few simple statements, but you do need to take the time to think about what you want from your life and your career. If you don’t know what you want to achieve, planning how to get it is impossible.
Constructing your personal vision statement
Firstly, find the time to be introspective. What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? Again, following the advice in The Balanced Careers article, ask yourself a lot of questions. Here are a few suggestions:
- What are 10 things that you most enjoy doing? These are the 10 things without which your weeks, months, and years would feel incomplete.
- What three things must you do every single day to feel fulfilled in your work?
- What are your five to six most important values?
- Write one important goal for each of the following facets of your life: physical, spiritual, work or career, family, social relationships, financial security, mental improvement and attention, and fun.
- If you never had to work another day in your life, how would you spend your time instead of working?
- When your life is ending, what will you regret not doing, seeing, or achieving?
- What strengths have other people commented on about you and your accomplishments?
- What strengths do you see in yourself?
- What weaknesses have other people commented on about you, and what do you believe are your weaknesses?
When it comes to goals and objectives, it helps to visualise what you want to achieve and then write your goals down on paper.
Committing to your dreams and hopes for the future make them achievable, and writing them down is the first step. Write down statements with your future self in mind. What do you want to focus on? What do you hope to achieve, who do you want to be? Once you have a few statements, you will start to see how you can align your personal growth with your career. Do they align? Are you on the right path? If not, how do you make the changes necessary to get yourself there?
Remember that your vision statement can change over time, depending on your life responsibilities and career. It is worth revisiting your statement once a year. What have you accomplished, what has changed, and how can you continue to move forward?
