The Power of a Family Vision in a Distracted World
A strong vision of success is essential to great leadership as a parent.
Without a clear vision, you might have wonderful ideas about how you want to raise your child... but without focus and discipline, it's easy to get lost in the endless tasks of daily life and lose sight of the bigger picture. The day-to-day can start to feel hollow and purely operational — rather than purposeful and meaningful.
“If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.”
— Steve Jobs
I recently guided my own parents through an exercise to create a vision for our family. While my older sibling and I lead our own families, my younger brother has a mental disability and is highly dependent on my parents. For decades, they’ve simply been managing — responding to what each day demanded. But this was the first time in 40 years they stepped back to articulate a vision for him.
In their words, it meant:
“Clarity on what needs to be done”
“Focus on what matters most, despite the day-to-day things that come up”
“A general direction, rather than meandering”
“Feeling like we have some control over the future”
So often, it’s easier to keep going through the motions and just get through the day. But having a vision can reconnect you with what truly matters.
Walter Mischel, known for The Marshmallow Test, studied the effects of delayed gratification. In his research, children were given the option of one marshmallow now or two if they waited 15 minutes. The study revealed that when people connected with their future selves, they were more able to demonstrate discipline in the present. The same applies in parenting: when you’re clear on your family vision, you’re more likely to make aligned choices — even when they’re uncomfortable.
At a practical level, your family vision might help you withstand public opinion when your child wears mismatched clothes... because your vision is to raise a creative child who expresses themselves freely.
For my parents, their vision meant moving through both the ‘what happens’ list and the ‘what matters’ list — even when it felt hard — because they had a direction guiding them toward a better quality of life in the future.
A vision without focus and discipline remains just a nice idea. In today’s noisy, fast-paced world, you need to be intentional. The 24/7 nature of online life is always pulling you in multiple directions... and that’s exactly why a clear family vision is more important than ever.
So...
What is your family vision?
Need help crafting a vision that aligns with your family values? My Stressed to Best Parent Method will help you clarify what matters most and lead your family with purpose.