Financially Fit & Fabulous: Vision Planning for 2022 – Part 1

WHILE it is true that your family is not a corporation, or a small company, sitting down together or individually to take stock of your current situation and look at where you want to go is an important task at the start of every year.

Vision Planning is part of this exercise. Visioning involves not only thinking about where you want to go but also the best ways by which you can get there. It helps you to define who you really are and what you want to become in the larger scheme of things.

For the traditional company, the vision statement describes what a company desires to achieve in the long-run, sometimes in a time frame of five to ten years, or more.

A vision statement helps you to plan strategically and also to develop the right goals which will take you towards the desired destination.  

The vision statement is therefore:

• Concerned with the future

• Something motivating you to change.

• Reflective of your preferred culture and core values

• Aimed at bringing new benefits that currently do not exist and improving you and your family’s life

• The vision statement also defines your reason for existence and says where you are going

If visioning is something you have never done, this is as good a time as any to begin. You will actually be considering what you want your life, your family’s life to look like over a longer period than a year.

Consider every area of your life:

• Mental Health

• Financial Health

• Retirement planning

• Physical Health

• Community involvement

• Relationship Health

• Friendships

In looking at each of these areas and considering what you would want it to be in five years or so, this will motivate you in the development of the strategies which will support the vision and the goals coming from them.

Your vision should be larger than yourself. Considering not only you and your family’s needs but how you intend to change the world around you.

Looking at one example of one of the world’s biggest companies (remember it never started out that size) is a good indication of the kind of outlook that you need.

Microsoft Corp which develops, manufactures, licenses, and sells technology products, says in it’s vision: “To create local opportunity, growth and impact in every community and country around the world.”

The vision statement places the company in the global community and considers its potential impact.

In the same way, place yourself in your wider environment and think of the impact you want to make.

Consider each area we have mentioned above as a separate area for visioning and then, out of your thoughts, try to write one statement defining who you are and where you want to be in the next decade.  You will also need to write actionable and measurable goals for each area of your life to get you to your goal. Next week we will discuss how you can look into your future through your actual vision board.Sonia Brown is a licensed Investment Advisor from Scotia Investments Jamaica Limited.