Practices for exercising purpose and vision

- What would it be like to be fueled by your vision and purpose every day? Here is the good news, you're now connected with a sense of purpose and vision that matter to you. Here is the bad news, we live in a fast moving world with lots of distractions. In our stressful daily lives, it's easy to lose connection with what matters to us unless we create a practice. Your purpose and vision are ideas that evolve as change happens around you and within you. These ideas are part of you, like muscles in your body. If you want to have stronger muscles, you work out every week. To be alive, your purpose and vision need a regular workout as well. Here are some simple practices that my coaching clients use. Create a simple one-page reminder of your vision and purpose. You can download a template in the exercise files. Share your purpose and vision with trusted colleagues. One of my executive coaching clients created an inspiring purpose statement, but had a hard time sharing it because it felt too personal. Once he shared it, he realized how it helped inspire others and helped them see him as a more caring leader. Find different ways to connect with it daily. Write your purpose and vision down on your calendar or daily planner. Start your day reading it out loud. Make it multisensory. Find pictures to create a vision board. Find a piece of music or playlist that reminds you, or even create a movement or a dance that brings it alive for you. Map out a list of actions you'll take. Brainstorm your actions with a friend. Work together with your team to help them create theirs and find what your team is inspired to contribute together. Keep a leadership journal. This has been proven to help you grow and meet your goals. Keep a daily list of leadership accountability questions. I have a list of questions that I ask myself every day. For example, you can ask yourself, did I do my best to connect with and practice purpose today? The exercise file will give you more information on this. Start a mindfulness practice. I've been practicing mindfulness for the last 12 years, and it is the single greatest tool that has helped me grow as a leader. When we're mindful, we're more present to the opportunities to practice our purpose in this moment. Co-create a team purpose and vision. I recently led a team visioning session for a client. Each team member created their own purpose statement and then shared what inspired them. The team then created a collage of pictures for their team vision. It helped develop the team into a more aligned, purposeful, and trusting group. Share your team vision. Find ways to share your team's vision and purpose before you get into business discussions. It will help you keep alive what's important for you to focus on. Put it in your workspace, bring it up during difficult conversations or decisions. It will help guide you. What are other ways that you can think of to stay inspired and on purpose every day? The important action is to pick one of the above and experiment with it.