Write your own vision for fatherhood
Developing a vision for fatherhood helps you articulate who you want to be as a dad, and acts a a compass to help guide you through the tough (and not so tough) decisions for you and your family.
Visions of course can change, but having a short but clear vision that you can clearly articulate can help you focus on what is important and how you want to show up for your family.
Future Father’s Day Card
Activity:
Today is Father’s Day ~2055 and your adult child(ren) are visiting for lunch.
They give you a card. As you open it, you are amazed that it is filled from edge to edge with writing – a short essay – reflecting on:
the dad you have been to them; and
how much your fathering has shaped who they are today, through life’s highs and lows.
Take a piece of paper and a pen, find a quiet place and write this card to yourself. Outline specific (hypothetically) examples, e.g. how you showed up for them in key moments of their life, what you have modelled to them and the things they value most about their relationship with you.
Now based on what you have just written, write a 1 sentence vision statement summarising the father you want to be. Keep it short but make it meaningful to you.
