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Why Create a Vision?

• •  Choices and decisions we make create consequences, without the direction of a clear vision to guide us, we fail to acquire the quality-of-life results we expect.
  • Partial visions lead to an imbalance in life.
  • Visions based on reflections by others, and not on the inner personal-self are not rewarding and empowering to the individual.
  • A shared vision empowers and impacts quality of life.
  • A well-defined vision leads to satisfaction and a sense of meaning and purpose in life.
  •  The lack of a clear vision leads to settling for whatever happens, creating and staying true to a vision makes things happen.

“If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’re going to keep getting what  we’re getting.” -Steven Covey

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What is a Vision?

• •  A vision begins as an idea in your imagination that you have a desire to make real.
    
  •  The idea turns into the intention and will to achieve that idea.
  •  Refining and clarifying the idea along with the intentions to achieve it are what turn into the vision.
  • The vision is the articulation of the desired future that is better in some important way than what exists or what is expected (as of now) to exist in the future.

A vision is a clear picture of what you hope to create –Chynoweth and Dyer (1991, pg 63) Strengthening Families

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THE POWER OF VISION!

The ability to see beyond our present reality, to create, to invent what does not yet exist, to become what we not yet are. It gives us the capacity to live out of our imagination instead of our memory. –– Steven Covey (1994, p103) First Things First

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Creating a Vision: Begin by Dreaming

• • Consider who you and your child would like to participate in helping to build a vision.
    
  • Brainstorm, Dream, Imagine.
  • Focus on things that will give your child a sense of purpose and meaning in life.
  • Do not limit your dreams to what is, where things currently exist, or what has typically occurred in the lives of others with disabilities similar to your child’s.
  • Dreams are not based on or limited by your child’s needs, their needs will be determined by the dream.

 “You see things and ask ‘Why?’. But I dream things that never were and say ‘Why not?’.” – George Bernard Shaw

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Clarifying and Refining the Vision

• •  Creating a vision is a process of nurturing and cultivating ideas and imagination.
    
  •  Differentiate between the future that would become real and the future of your vision.
  •  The vision must be about changing that which is likely to occur, rather than changing that “what is”.
  •  The vision is about changing the world in a way that wouldn’t have normally happened.
  •  The vision must distinguish between what must change and what must not change.
  •  It must be clear and well-defined to be a real vision.

 “It is better to aim high and miss than to never aim at all” -Unknown

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Taking Action and Supporting the Vision

• • Share the vision and help others recognize their importance in the realization of the vision.
    
  • Lock onto the vision, make it a way of life, a part of every decision.
  • Make each day a step toward making the vision a dream come true.
  • Become aware of and utilize the natural forces that move toward the achievement of the vision.
  • Become aware of and avoid, reduce, or neutralize those things that lead away from the vision.
  • Anticipate resistance in the accomplishment of the vision.
  • Envision the implications of successfully achieving the vision.

“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare” -Japanese Proverb

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Living the Vision

“Most people who feel empowered by their mission statement find that there seems to be some point at which their statement “lives”. They own it. It’s theirs. The vital connection is made between the mission and the moment in life. Then, with nurturing and continuing cultivation, the mission becomes the primary factor that influences every moment of choice. ” (Covey, First Things First pg 116)

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REMEMBER THE CHILD!
REMEMBER THE PERSON!
REMEMBER THE VISION!

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ADDITIONAL QUOTES.

• • “When one door closes, another one opens. But we often look so  regretfully upon the closed door that we don’t see the one that has  opened for us” -Alexander Graham Bell
  •  “The most damaging phrase in language is: ‘It’s always been done that way” -Rear Admiral Grace Hopper
  •  “A vision is the art of seeing things invisible”
    -Jonathan Swift
  • “The best way to predict your future is to create it “
    -Anonymous
  • “You can’t have a better tomorrow if your thinking about yesterday all the time ” -Charles Kettering
  •  “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” -Anonymous
  •  “A ship in harbor is safe — but that is not what ships are for” – John A Shedd
  •  “Imagination is more important than knowledge”
    -Albert Einstein
  • “Only those who attempt the absurd … will achieve the impossible” -Anonymous
  • “I always wanted to be somebody, but I see now I should have been more specific.”-Lily Tomlin
  •  “Action may not always bring happiness: but there is no happiness without action” -Henry Van Dyke
  •  “Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of plan in which we must frequently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other road to success.” -Steven Brennan
  • “Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.” -Unknown

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