Vision: Seeing Your Way to Success

When people talk about having vision, often times they are talking about the ability to see. But, as with many things in life, vision can be one of two things. You can have vision, but do you have Vision?

The first, vision, is pretty common. It refers only to the physical ability to see. Unless you are blind, you have vision. You see the clock on the wall, the board at school, and the other people around you.

The other, Vision, is a little less common. It’s the ability to see the big picture. The end goal. Leaders of companies or organizations are often referred to as having Vision.

You can have vision. But do you have Vision?

This is a difficult concept for kids to understand. It becomes more understandable when you relate it to achieving goals. If a child has a goal, and has a plan to accomplish that goal, she has Vision.

This ability to see down the road, and make a plan for it, is another valuable life skill. But how do you teach it when the concept is sort of abstract? Because the ability to have Vision is related to goals, it is natural to teach both skills, goal setting and Vision, at the same time.

To help, try the following tips.

1. Set the goal. Sit down and help your child choose his goal. While it might be tempting to select the goal for him, kids are more invested when they choose for themselves. The goal might be to improve a grade, run faster, or learn a new skill. Whatever it is, make sure it is a SMART goal: Specific, Measurable, Agreed to by all parties, Realistic given time and experience, and Timed, that is bound by a deadline. Setting a SMART goal increases the chances of success right from the start.

2. See the end. A picture tells a thousand words and the picture of accomplishing the goal will help your child reach it. This is an important part of Vision, the ability to “see” herself at the end. Ask your child to picture the entire event. Where is she? Who else is there? This exercise of picturing the end of the goal will make it seem more real, more within her reach.

3. Involve all the senses. Seeing himself being successful is important. But don’t forget, humans have five senses. Enrich the Vision by involving them. What does he hear? Are people clapping, telling him good job? What does he feel? Maybe he’s getting a hug from Grandma. Or feeling can be emotional. Is he happy? Relieved? Excited? The more details you can give to the visualization of success, the better the Vision will be.

4. Give success a voice. We all know that other people say things when we accomplish a goal. But what do we say to ourselves? Kids might not stop to think about it, but what they say to themselves is at least as important as what others would say. Ask you child what she would say when she finishes her goal. Perhaps she would congratulate herself with “great job.” Or maybe she would express relief: “I finally did it.”

5. Believe to achieve. All of the above tips are important. They are the details that help kids get where they want to be. But there is another important piece of the puzzle. That piece is belief. All the plans, details, and goals in the world are useless unless he believes he will be successful. After he plans his goal, and performs the above visioning exercises, ask him, “Do you believe you will be successful?” If the answer is no, help him work out what he needs to believe. Belief is an essential part of a successful Vision. Don’t forget it.

6. Put it in action. She’s set SMART goals, can see herself at the end, and believes. Now, put it in action. Periodically, ask your child to go through the visioning exercises. By repeating these steps, right through to the end, kids can make Vision a part of their lives.

Being able to set a goal, and see himself achieving it, will pay off in school, college and beyond. Having Vision will help him be successful. Remember, if you can believe it, you have already achieved it.

Oakmont Martial Arts licensed by the American Taekwondo Association, the premier North American organization dedicated to the martial arts discipline of taekwondo. They offer training for young children (Tiny Tigers, 3-6), youth (6-13), teens and adults, as well as adult fitness classes. Visit www.OakmontMartialArts.com or their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ataOakmont) for more information, or call 412-826-8004 to schedule an introductory lesson.

A software technical writer by day, Mary Sutton is the mother of two teens and has been making her living with words for over ten years. She is the author of the Hero’s Sword middle-grade fantasy series, writing as M.E. Sutton, and The Laurel Highlands Mysteries police-procedural series, writing as Liz Milliron. Visit her online at www.marysuttonauthor.com.