Episode 19: 5 Strategies for Creating Your Dream Life Vision

The first time someone said the phrase to me “dream life vision,” I guarantee you that I rolled my eyes. So if that’s you, mama, you’re not alone! You’re also in the right place. Today’s episode is all about creating a dream life vision. And I promise, it won’t be too woo-woo!

By the end of today’s episode, you’ll have 5 strategies that you can use to start creating your dream life vision today. The sooner you create the vision, the sooner you’ll be able to live it. Here we go! 

Creating Your Dream Life Vision: An Introduction

As I mentioned, I had a lot of trouble buying into this idea of a dream life vision a few years ago. At the time, I was an overwhelmed mom, dropping my kiddos off at daycare to go to a job that I no longer felt passionate about. A dream life felt like a luxury that was out of my reach. We had student loans, we had a mortgage to pay. Basically, we had to be grown-ups and be miserable. That was how I lived for many years.

Then I discovered Rachel Hollis. If you’re interested in hearing all the nitty gritty details of this story, you can definitely check out episode 2 where I really get into it. But the short version is I did a guided meditation that she shared in her book “Girl, Stop Apologizing” and I created my very first vision of my dream life. What was on it? I wanted to get my kids on and off the bus every day. That was it. 

Now, realize that I had no idea HOW I was going to make this happen at this point. I had just gone back to teaching after my final maternity leave and I felt stuck because of my teaching degree, my husband’s student loan and our general finances. But Rachel Hollis gave me the permission to not worry about the how, just identify what my dream life looked and felt like. To me, it was being able to meet the bus every day. I kept that image in my mind of being there to greet the bus and used that to slowly gain momentum as I went through the next three strategies that I’m going to share with you now.

And now? I get my kiddos on and off the bus every single day. That big yellow bus coming around the corner is my daily reminder that the time I spent creating a dream life vision wasn’t wasted. And I am so grateful that I started when I did, so that I could have this time with my kiddos. 

Creating Your Dream Life Vision: Strategy 1 

So you may have already guessed this one, but my first strategy for creating your dream life vision is to do the dream life exercise that I mentioned above, inspired by Rachel Hollis. If you are excited to dive into this, we are actually going to do it together, right now. 

Let’s do a modified version of the dream life vision exercise together right now. Go ahead and take out your MAP Book, or another place where you can write your thoughts down and be able to access them later. In the notebook, across the top, write the date ten years from now. So for me, that would be September 2032. Then, underneath the date, brainstorm your dream life vision. Who are you 10 years from now? What job do you have? Has your family changed? How do you spend your day? What kind of car do you drive?

Ready to set-up your own notebook system? Click here to download your free notebook system set-up guide, in 60 minutes or less.

The more detailed you get with this exercise, the more effective it will be. If you can, set a timer for 30 minutes or longer to really force yourself to think through the details. When I first did this exercise, I got crazy detailed and now it’s uncanny to see how many of these things are now a part of the life that I am living. 

If you want to look at the full exercise, you can find it in Rachel Hollis’ book, Girl, Stop Apologizing. 

Creating Your Dream Life Vision: Strategy 2

The second strategy for creating your dream life vision is to design your ideal day. We talked about this idea back in episode 7, but it’s one of my favorite exercises that I revisit several times a year.

To do this exercise, I always write down my typical schedule as time blocks in my MAP Book. 5am wake up, 8am kids on the bus, 9:30am work day starts, you get the idea. Don’t worry about the nitty gritty here. Start from when you wake up to when you usually go to bed. 

Next, I look at the whole day as it currently stands and ask myself: what would be the BEST version of this? This is definitely the hardest part. You want to remove the limitations of your job, finances, etc. and just allow yourself to brainstorm. Do you crave time to read every day? Maybe you want to have a daily coffee date with your significant other. Or maybe you want to snuggle your kiddo every night before bed and read a story together. Decide what your ideal day would look like. 

In other contexts, I usually encourage you to take this exercise one step further and see what you can embed in your life now, realistically. For the purpose of creating your dream life vision, you don’t necessarily need to take that step right now. All you are doing now is opening your mind to see what you dream life could potentially look like. 

Creating Your Dream Life Vision: Strategy 3

If you’re beginning to notice that some of these strategies have already been touched on in previous episodes, you are 100% spot on. The third strategy for creating your dream life vision is to create your joy list. We originally talked about the joy list back in episode 11 as a strategy for jumpstarting yourself when you are in a rut. But this exercise  can help you create your dream life vision too.

How? I’m so glad you asked! By creating a list of things that brings you joy, you are identifying things that you want more of in your life. And just like the previous strategy you don’t necessarily need to take any action right this minute. But going through this exercise will help to strengthen your dream life vision.

Creating Your Dream Life Vision: Strategy 4

The fourth strategy for creating your dream life vision is to think about the habits that you would want to have in your dream life. We got pretty deep with habits back in episode 12, but ask yourself: What habits would the ideal version of me have? 

To be honest, I geek out over this question. The ideal version of me would write every day, go outside every day, spend time each day genuinely connecting with others and creating. While I don’t currently do all of these things every day, I am a heck of a lot further than I was a few years ago. So ask yourself, what habits would the ideal version of me have? 

Creating Your Dream Life Vision: Strategy 5

Finally, the last strategy for creating your dream life vision is to create a personal growth plan. This is the most challenging step because it is where you are stepping from theory to action. As a personal growth coach, this is my specialty and I help my coaching clients take their dream vision and turn it into their reality. 

What if you’re not ready to work with a coach? Well, there’s good news – you can absolutely start the process on your own! In my experience, it can take a little longer when you DIY, so you want to keep that in mind. But I recommend dedicating 2 pages in your MAP Book to your personal growth plan and mapping out the actions you are going to take in the next 6-12 months to move you towards your dream life vision. Again, you want to consider your timeline, but don’t hold yourself too closely to it. I began creating my dream life vision in 2017 and it didn’t become a reality for 3 years, and I had a pandemic to credit for some of that. 

Let’s Make a Plan!

Is your mind reeling? So many different strategies and for today’s plan, you can honestly dive into any one of them. But real talk, first. Are you feeling overwhelmed? If so, here is the action step I want you to take away from this episode: 

In your MAP Book, on the top of a new page, write the date and then write the prompt: “Wouldn’t it be cool if…” Now spend the next 10-15 minutes answering the prompt.

This is a great starting point if you’re feeling overwhelmed! 

Now, I mentioned my MAP Book a few times in this episode. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out my MAP Book set-up guide. This fully customized system that will transform you from overwhelmed and reactive to proactive and on top of things. And the best part? It will take 60 minutes or less to get going with it and is the tool I swear by for reaching your big goals. 

And Don’t Forget…

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe on Spotify or YouTube so you don’t miss next week’s episode where I am going to be sharing 5 strategies for getting your (mom) mindset right.

Next, if you want to connect between episodes, be sure to give me a follow over on Instagram. I would love to support you on your personal growth journey, mama!

Finally, be sure to subscribe to my email list to get weekly personal growth delivered right to your inbox – and because I know you’re busy mama, I promise it will include a meaningful action step that will take you 2 minutes or less to implement! 

Thank you so much for being here, mama! Get back to doing your thing, rocking your world and remember – keep growing! Little eyes are watching. 

Did You Love This Episode?

If so, be sure to share it with a friend – this helps busy moms like you to find me!

And finally, you can also check out these related episodes that I think you’ll be obsessed with:

Emotionally Prepare For A Life Change

Creating a 10 Year Family Vision

How a 99¢ Notebook Saved My Life