Now that families are together most of the time under one roof, it is a good time to create a family vision statement.
The family vision statement is the shared vision and values of your family. It is what you imagine your family to be and your hopes for every member of the family. The purpose of making a vision statement is to direct the family towards one vision so that everybody rows the boat to the right direction.
To create a family vision statement, the couple brainstorms and also asks input from every member of the family.
“The core of any family is what is changeless, what is always going to be there- shared vision and values.
By getting input from every family member, you get the family talking, communicating on things that really matter deeply.”
– Stephen R. Covey
Our family created a family vision statement after I attended a parenting seminar which was required in my daughter’s preschool. We brainstormed about our vision statement during dinner. We tried to answer the following questions:
What do we think a perfect family look like? What values do we want to instill in the children? What does each member of the family need to strengthen or work on to achieve our vision for the family?
Even after the brainstorming, my husband and I could not come up with a vision statement. So, we asked our daughter who was 6 years old at that time. She thought for a minute and then said, ” A, alam ko na. Helping, sharing and no fighting.”
In simple words, we have come up with a family vision statement- Helping, Sharing and No fighting. It is our vision that we always help each other grow to be good children of God, share with each other our gifts and minimize fighting by listening to each other and always be forgiving.
Put your family vision statement in a place where everybody can see it and be reminded by it.
We decided to put our vision statement in our stairway. We painted it on the horizontal beam of the wall. Even my 3 year old daughter insisted to paint with us. I tried to cover her strokes at the lower right of the beam. But as I was painting it over, I realised that this painting doesn’t need to be perfect. Her strokes is part of the story of the painting.
The family vision should be lived day to day. Make it your living constitution.
In our home, disciplining the children became easier with our family vision painted big there on the wall. When the siblings fight over some toys, I just point to the wall and remind them, “Remember: helping, sharing and no fighting?” Even between them, they settle their differences when one of them points to our vision wall.
Because family members grow up, it is good to review the family vision statement every year. Update and make revisions on your family vision statement.
It has been 4 years since we created our family vision statement. We have not changed it. The words painted there still hold true for us today. But this year, we have expanded the scope of our family vision statement to include others. After all, we are all family in God’s eyes.
I hope I have inspired you to create your own family vision statement. If we know our principles and what matters most to us and our family, then we can surely stay strong and positive amidst this pandemic.
houseprojecteva 