Vision Statements for 2026

My wife and I spent Christmas and New Years with our whole family in Hawaii. We stayed in a large house owned by our son-in-law’s family, which is located on the big island called “Hawaii”. The house has a great location – between, and part of, two different resorts, Mauna Kea, and Westin Hapuna. These feature private beaches, great coffee shops and restaurants, shopping and access to two separate golf courses. Interestingly, the house overlooks the ocean and is close to one owned by the owner, founder of Cirque de Soleil. One of my grandsons said that on a scale of 1-10, he rated this holiday as an 11.

We spent a lot of time together, but I had time to do quite a bit of reading as well. On “holidays” (some of my friends say this is a perpetual state for me), I like to read quality fiction, which is a departure from the more hardcore books I read. I got into an author by the name of Nelson DeMille about a son who went on a mission finding out some things his father never told him about his life. It was an excellent book and got me thinking – what do I do that I have never told my family about but which would be worthwhile for them to know.

One thing that came to mind immediately is my 45 year practice of writing out a yearly mission or vision statement which would have a few benefits. Like most major companies do, I would set out a statement that would be a focused guide for me in the year to come. I started doing this every December. I was not alone in doing this as I found out by looking around. People like Jack Nicklaus and Kent Austin had done this in their own way. I received my inspiration for my statements from articles or books I read, including books like Proverbs – why not listen to a person called the wisest man who ever lived - meaning Solomon of course.

Here are some of the statements I adopted for myself:

 Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding (Proverbs)
 There are no little people, there are no little clients.
 I will try to make every situation better for me having been there.
 Just Show Up! (Some of my best clients adopted this one after I used it to help them through a difficult situation. Christian leader, David Mainse, in a political and cultural context used to say that Nations are built by those people who show up.)
 Be and seek faithful friends for they are a rare thing (Proverbs).
 Guard your heart – every action, every act flows from your heart (Proverbs 4:23). I went on to expand this every so often to include Guard your marriage, your children, your grandchildren, your relationships.

I wrote these out and posted them where I could see them several times a day. Eg. The corner of my office desk, and/or a dresser. And to be clear, as I brought in a new statement, the old one(s) did not end. They had become ingrained into my thinking over the course of a full year essentially. 

Over the course of time, I discovered some very interesting things about what I was doing. One of these things in particular was extremely beneficial / informative. I started reading and watching DVDs by Dr. Caroline Leaf, who is a South African clinical neuroscientist, and an outspoken Christian. She talked about neural pathways that form in our brains if we start thinking along certain lines and which become engrained over time so that they govern our views and responses to various things – remember Proverbs 4:23. For example, if we start thinking that things are working against us, or people are picking on us, or the only luck I have is bad luck, we will develop victimization pathways(s) in our brain. These become entrenched and take work to overcome. If they are bad ones, they should be overcome. If they are good pathways, then they should be enforced or strengthened. A
grandson of mine recently talked to me in terms of paving these good pathways, as opposed to leaving them as dirt roads.

An interesting sidelight I learned is that this concept may well explain certain things like ADHD. Neural pathways can have very positive benefits if they lead to a solid end point, but, with ADHD, these pathways may have, or develop off ramps which take people off course. Brain scans have also revealed that children living with unstable families, (excessive arguing, abusive and/or neglectful), develop heightened activity in threat-detection brain regions, similar to combat soldiers after active duty – a war ready nervous system due to constant stress, which can impair emotional regulation and memory. Chronic emotional tension, conflict and neglect are enough to alter brain development, just as physical harm does. 

What I was doing by focusing and repeating my mission statements was eliminating some bad pathways and/or building some good ones. I tried to do this faithfully during each year and over 45 years. Am I better for it? I think so. Am I perfect or even very good? I think not. Just ask Marj, my wife! Do I recommend that others try it? Absolutely. This is what I told my children in Hawaii that I have never told anyone about – Hear me out and give it a go.
You may be asking if I still do this now that I have left my work in large part. Yes, I am still doing it. My 2026 thought / mission statement is “Age Purposefully”. What does this mean for me as I slip or stumble into my more senior years? In part, it means this. Even though I age, I will be purposeful and productive in order to glorify God and serve others. A sermon that I recently heard was based on the theme “You were made on purpose for a purpose”. One person I looked to for advice on this was the prophet Isaiah, who said “Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Of course, he was quoting God, who I look to as a good example to listen to and follow.

In conclusion then, here is a takeaway for you to consider. Why not give this, or some variation of this, a try. One thing you could try initially is to write down a negative neural pathway you want to remove or reroute. Then put in place a statement that counteracts this thought every time it comes up. For example, victimization, negativity, ingratitude, inactivity. Capture the bad thoughts, form new thoughts and pathways. Also, after writing this out, place the paper, or papers, in spots where you will see them several times during the day. Keep these in a journal that you can look back at over the years. One thing this practice led to was me getting into journaling. I don’t do this daily, but do it when I feel moved or inspired by something. The simple act of writing something down, in itself, helps remember and reinforce what you wrote down.

So there you go; do something to make 2026 more fulfilling, meaningful and purposeful. And for those of you in RCAAN, consider applying a portion of your purpose or mission to the important and beneficial work of raising awareness and taking action on major issues of our days. I wish you a productive, prosperous, and purposeful New Year.

By Wayne Bernakevitch
The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the writer, and are not necessarily those of RCAAN.