Writing your personal vision statement as a Catholic

Dear Souls and Hearts Member,

“Fr. Emil,” the pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Responsibility parish in Garrison Keillor’s fictional Lake Wobegon community in his long-running radio series Prairie Home Companion used to say about different moral issues such as artificial contraception and abortion: “If you don’t want to go to Minneapolis, what are you doing on the train?”

Fr. Emil is echoing Lao Tzu, who I quoted in my last reflection as follows:  “If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.”  So let’s take St. Paul’s advice and in Romans 13:11 and wake up:  “Besides this you know what hour it is, how it is full time now for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.”

Let’s get deliberate about which train we are on; let’s not just drift, but be intentional and clear about our course.  As Japanese organization theorist and business consultant Kenichi Ohmae said, “Rowing harder doesn’t help if the boat is headed in the wrong direction.”

Definition of a personal vision statement.

I emphasized how important it was to be clear about our vision – where we are headed, who we are seeking to become in the future.  I defined a vision statement as follows:

A personal vision statement is your expression of the future state of who you seek to become, who you are called to be in the future.

As I noted in the last semi-monthly reflection,

“A vision statement describes a destination. It is future-focused.  It summarizes your mental picture of your future perfected self in your imagination.  It describes your “who” – the person you want to become.  Your vision statement is your orienting star – like the Star of Bethlehem for the wise men of the East, who with single-mindedness of purpose followed the star.”

And:

“[Your] vision statement is your guiding star, the glowing city on the hill to which you make your pilgrimage, setting the overarching destination.”

Seven criteria for personal vision statements

A well-written vision statement has certain properties as expressed by Sooksan Kantabutra and Gayle C. Avery in their article in The power of vision: statements that resonate in the Journal of Business Strategy from January of 2010.  Kantabutra and Avery were describing the characteristics of good vision statements for organizations, but the same seven basic qualities apply to personal vision statements as well.  They write that vision statements should be:

1. Concise – your vision statement should be short and succinct, no more than one sentence, and often just a few words that are easily memorized and brought to mind, even when you are under stress so that your vision can re-anchor you.
2. Clear – your vision statement should be simple, straightforward, direct, and plain.  Your personal vision statement is your focus on your destination.  You want your focus to be clear.
3. Future-oriented – your vision is your shining city on the hill, it’s your destination — where you want to be in the future in your perfected self.
4. Stable — your vision statement should not be changing, it needs to abide within you, constant and established, firm and enduring, regardless of the changing circumstances of your life.
5. Challenging — your vision statement should be bold and demanding, it should be difficult and require sacrifices from you, but not be impossible.
6. Abstract — your personal vision statement describes the one ideal you, your conceptualization of your best self.  Your personal vision statement stays at a general level. It doesn’t get into the weeds of specifics; the vision statement is not a place for a lot of detail.
7. Inspirational — your personal vision statement should embolden you to action, excite you, stir the depths of your heart, motivate you to get on the road to achieving that vision of you. Your personal vision statement is both inspirational and aspirational – we aspire to become our personal visions of our perfected future selves.

Other lists of criteria for vision statements exist that might be helpful to you, such as Hugh Whelchel’s 7 Tips for Writing Your Personal Vision Statement.

Examples of the saints’ personal vision statements

The saints are our exemplars as Catholics.  As Gorazd Andrejč wrote in his article The Problem of The Self-Ascription of Sainthood,

“…according to one popular meaning – let us call it a basic moral-spiritual meaning of ‘saint’ – ‘saint’ means a person whose moral and spiritual qualities, devotion, insight, discipline or presence, are exceptional, and who is justifiably taken as an exemplar by the community.”

On EWTN’s landing page for saints is written, “Saints are the heroes of the Catholic faith. They lived lives in holiness, dedicated to serving God and spreading His message of salvation….Today, the saints serve as examples for all Catholics, showing us how to lead a more satisfying, more spiritual life in communion with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.”

So I was particularly interested to see if I could find examples of vision statements from Catholic saints, our best examples of living the Catholic faith to the hilt?  Were there quotes from saints that fit the qualities of vision statements described above?

Yes, indeed, there are.

I found these twelve quotes which are in essence, the personal vision statements of these saints, who these exceptional people aspired to become in their future.

1. St. Bernadette Soubirous “I shall spend every moment loving.“
2. Saint Francis of Assisi  “Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith.“
3. St. Francis Xavier: “I want to be a saint, and a great saint.“
4. St. Gianna Molla “… to live moment by moment and to thank God for what He is sending us every day in His goodness.”
5. St. Dominic Savio  “… I want to do everything, even the smallest things, for the greater glory of God.”
6. Saint Gemma Galgani  “My God, I give You my heart; I offer You my ardent love. I want to live only for You. I want to die of love for You.“
7. St. Patrick: “Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me.“
8. St. Clare of Assisi  “Love God, serve God; everything is in that.”
9. Mother Theresa “I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.“
10. Saint Teresa of Ávila: “I want to be what God wants me to be and to be with God.“
11. Saint Maximilian Kolbe: “I want to be an instrument in the hands of the Immaculate.“
12. The Blessed Virgin Mary:  “I am the handmaid of the Lord.”

It seems to me that these statements are concise, clear, future-oriented, stable, challenging, abstract, and inspirational.  Saints’ vision statement are important to us not just for understanding what motivated them; their visions can also inform us on discerning and writing our own vision statements.  You may find many more visions statements, especially in the writings of saints you may particularly admire.

St. Therese of Lisieux and her vision statement

I admire St. Therese of Lisieux.

Shortly before she died of tuberculosis at the age of 24, St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower, in her intensity to live out all the possible vocations that exist in the Church, composed what I interpret as her vision statement.  She relates in her autobiography, Story of a Soul on page 194:

“…I cried out: O Jesus, my love…my vocation, at last I have found it…MY VOCATION IS LOVE! Yes, I have found my place in the Church…. I shall be Love.”

Of all the vision statements of all the saints through all of history that I’ve ever seen this one moved me the most, and resonated with my deep desires for my future. And so, without any apologies, I’ve modified it slightly and made it my own vision statement:  I will be Love.

For me, I immediately knew this was my vision.  I didn’t go through an involved process to determine it; rather, the wording of my vision statement came to me in a flash:  I will be Love. 

But it’s not necessarily that way for everyone.  So to facilitate you discovering your vision statement, here are some guidelines that may be helpful.

Guidelines for your first session in writing your personal vision statement

So let’s get down to some specific actionable steps for writing you own vision statement.  Here are my ideas:

1. Set aside at least 30 minutes in a quite space with minimal distractions for the first draft. Shut off all electronic alerts, and work with a pencil and paper to minimize impulses that can be exacerbated by being on a computer, tablet, or phone, such as to look something up.  Set a timer for the 30 minutes if that helps.
2. Turn your gaze inward and notice what it happening in and around your body as you begin this process of writing a personal vision statement. Notice any emotions, desires, impulses, attitudes, beliefs, assumptions, or other internal experiences that are coming up.  These may be motivated by parts of you who want to share something about their experience or concerns about the process.  We seek for the writing of your vision statement to include all your parts and to be best for all your parts; you can let them know this.
3. Connect relationally in prayer to God, Mary, or a particular saint or guardian angel for guidance and wisdom in starting this project. If the parts of you who are present feel safe enough be included and to share in the prayer, invite them in.
4. Remember that these are just guidelines, and that you can find other ways to do this, especially as your recollection increases, creativity goes up, and the likelihood of being inspired also rises.
5. A vision statement can begin with just one word. If a single word comes to mind, write it down.  Play with it with your parts.  Often more will come spontaneously.  You might see an image internally instead of getting a particular word.  Or a memory may come to mind. Or you may get an intuition or a touch or inspiration from God.   Just continue to connect with what comes up spontaneously with curiosity.
6. There is freedom to look at and copy part or all of another’s’ personal vision statement as long as the words of your vision statement really come from within your own depths and speak to you and for you. You can review the list of visions statements from the saints that I offer in this reflection to help you open up to discovering yours.
7. Bear in mind that this is just the first draft, and you don’t have to get it done perfectly on the first attempt. The discernment of your personal vision and writing it in a statement is a process that can be messy and imprecise, especially at the beginning.
8. Notice what happens inside when you write a word or two, being aware of parts and how they might be reacting. You can reassure parts that nothing in finalized yet, that this is an exploratory process.
9. Remember that a vision statement is about you in the future, your state of “being with.”
10. You are free to write and rewrite your statement until it seems to “fit” your vision well. It might help to weave in time to connect with your parts and time for prayer in your ongoing discernment of your vision statement.
11. If the going seems tough, it might help to bear in mind and reassure your parts with confidence in our Lord’s words in Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
12. And let’s remember to be patient with your parts, and to check in with your parts as the vision statement emerges to see how it lands with each part in relationship with you.

Next (optional) step…

After this first session, if it’s helpful, you are welcome to connect with this 16-minute experiential exercise titled Writing your vision statement with your parts to help your innermost self and your parts process through your initial work, explore any words that came up about your vision, and address any blocks or difficulties in it.

Working on personal vision statements together…

Several Souls and Hearts members recently got together online to write a personal vision statement. We shared experiences, asked questions, and did some troubleshooting. If you’re interested in seeing the recording of this session, you can see it here.

Souls and Hearts’ vision statement:

Many organizations also have vision statements, and in recent weeks, our staff has been working on articulating the vision for Souls and Hearts.  Currently, we’ve gotten this far — Souls and Hearts’ vision statement is:

Our vision is that Souls and Hearts helps our members to embrace and embody love in all our being – for us to become love – so that we can reflect that love back to God, our neighbors, and ourselves wholeheartedly.

You can also check out an 11-minute video I made for the core Souls and Hearts management team about our vision.  You can see how Souls and Hearts’ vision statement aligns with my personal vision statement, with a little more detail.

Up next…

In our next semimonthly reflection which released on August 26, 2024, we will explore in depth the difference between a vision statement and a mission statement; how you can write a mission statement that is informed by and depends on your vision statement; and we will get more specific about the means you will use to pursue your vision.   Stay tuned for that, and set aside some time that week for writing yours.

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Personal formation and chastity with Jason Evert

In episode 144 of the Interior Integration for Catholics podcast, Jason Evert of the Chastity Project joins Dr. Gerry and me to discuss the integration of personal formation and chastity.  We begin this episode with a brief experiential exercise to check out your spontaneous reactions, briefly discuss what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about chastity and interior integration, and then Jason shares with us his decades of experience in working with youth. He shares with us how the concept of chastity needs to be rehabilitated and framed in the positive light of love. He shares stories of how young people have responded to the call to chastity in their own formation. He also discusses the importance of starting formation in chastity early, not just prior to marriage. And he shares the connection between chastity and joy.  Join us via video or audio for this 45-minute experience.

And don’t forget to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel or Apple podcast, comment and leave reviews, all of which helps us get the word out to so many people who could benefit from the podcast.

Formation for Catholic formators

Nemo dat quod non habet.  You can’t give what you don’t have.  And the truth of this old maxim rings loud and clear in the realm of personal formation.

Catholic formators.  I’m writing to you.  That means you Catholic therapists, spiritual directors, Catholic coaches, seminarian formators, and any other faithful Catholic who accompanies others professionally on an individual basis.

I’m asking you to consider how you are working on your own human formation – human formation is the basis of all formation, according to St. John Paul II in Pastores Dabo Vobis.  You need to get that right in your life.  Or there will be bad consequences, both for yourself and for those you form.  I see it all the time.

Formation for Formators Community in Souls and Hearts opens in the next week, in August 2024.  We are now starting the process of setting up our fall Foundations Experiential Groups or FEGs which will begin in September – this is an excellent opportunity to engage in your own human formation, informed by IFS and parts- and systems-thinking, all grounded in a Catholic anthropology, to remove the beams from your own eyes before examining the specks in the eyes of those you accompany.

To learn more about the FFF community and the FEGs, check out our landing page.  This is an opportunity to bring parts work and systems thinking into your own human formation and personal development.

The Resilient Catholics Community

Calling all Catholic adults!  Are you ready to get more serious about your own personal formation and embark on a pilgrimage to better human formation in community with other Catholics – to follow the vision of who you are called to be?

Check out the Resilient Catholics Community at our RCC landing page and learn all about a unique opportunity to get to know and love your parts in a structured, year-long program where you meet weekly in small groups together with other likeminded Catholics on a pilgrimage to better human formation. Join about 400 other serious Catholics working on human formation; our new cohort opens for applications on October 1, 2024,

Yesterday, we concluded our third RCC retreat, which ran from August 8-11 at the Our Mother of the Redeemer Retreat Center in Bloomington, IN, and it was an amazing experience to be with 50 of our members.  It is hard to describe how powerful it was for so many Catholics to come together to work on their own human formation through experiential exercises (including somatic work), talks, conversations, and communal prayer, all oriented toward removing the natural obstacles to a deeper relational union with God.  Thank you to all of you who created that experience through your responses to God’s grace.

Conversation hours

As always, I host private conversation hours every Tuesday and Thursday from 4:30 PM to 5:30 PM Eastern time.  Call me on my cell at 317.567.9594 to connect for up to about 10 minutes or so.  I don’t give clinical consultation or provide any professional services, but we can discuss the content of any of these reflections or podcast episodes.

Pray for us…

All of our endeavors at Souls and Hearts are powered by prayer and God’s grace.  We are acutely aware that without Him, we can do nothing.  Souls and Hearts vision, our call to serve is ambitious and challenging and we can’t do it on our own.  Please pray for us so that we may carry out what God intends for us to be.

Warm regards in Christ and His Mother,

Dr. Peter