A Throwback on Vision: Why Clarity Still Wins - Episode #98

The Peace & Prosperity Podcast is a bi-weekly conversation with Jason Phillips, LCSW, licensed therapist and confidence expert in Raleigh, NC, discussing all things related to self-love and self-confidence, and how we can improve ourselves personally and professionally.

We’re bringing back a listener favorite for the new year, revisiting why resolutions fail when the vision behind them is unclear. 

In this episode, Jason  shares personal insights—from becoming a new dad to navigating grad school and training—to show how purpose turns effort into sustainable momentum. This episode breaks down the biggest blockers to progress: vague goals, unrealistic timelines, and fear of failure, while reframing rejection as information—not identity. You’ll learn practical strategies like the quarterback mindset, aligning daily habits with long-term goals, and using your environment to support consistency instead of burnout. If you’re ready to trade pressure for clarity and build progress that actually lasts, this throwback will help you move forward with intention.

Plus, remember to join our podcast community—like, share, subscribe, and let us know what topics you want us to cover next. Engage with us, send a DM, or leave a review. Let's continue this journey towards peace and prosperity together.

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Transcript

Welcome And Why Vision Matters

Obstacles: Lack Of Clarity

Unrealistic Goals And Frustration

Fear Of Failure And Risk

Short-Term Thinking Vs Long Game

Support Systems And Resources

Workplace Mental Health Offer

Self-Value, Affirmation, And Purpose

Vision Fuels Motivation And Discipline

Aligning Goals With Actions

Creativity And Vision Boards

Final Principles And Encouragement

Closing And Listener CTA

SPEAKER_00 0:01

So before we jump into new episodes, I want to bring this one back. As we step into a new year, vision matters, but not in a hustle or a pressure-filled way. This episode originally dropped last year, but I'm re-releasing it because the message still hits. Clarity beats resolution. And this is how you build confidence to reach your goals. So whether you heard it before or if this is your first time, listen with a fresh, open mind and ask yourself, what kind of year do you actually want to build? All right. If I know I want to achieve a goal of let's say, you know, getting married and having kids, right? So I'm a new dad and proud to be a new dad, but that was a journey. So I've been married 10 years, but a father less than one. If I was only thinking in the short term, like it had to happen now, then I would have given up on that goal a long time ago. All right, all right. Welcome to another episode of the Peace and Prosperity Podcast. I'm your host, Jason Phillips, licensed therapist, confidence expert. And today we are talking about the importance of having vision. This is one of those topics where we have to revisit because the language around vision changes and we learn more about ourselves and how to apply these different concepts so that we can have vision for ourselves. Now, before we talk about like how to acquire vision and what it looks like, let's talk about some of the things that get in the way of you really having the vision that you want for yourself. The first thing that gets in the way is lack of clarity or lack of focus. Now, you may have seen this in yourself or somebody that you know, where they say they want one thing, but then they bounce around to something else and something else and something else, and they continuously start over, or their vision or their goal is so broad that they can't ever narrow it down. So if I'm talking to you, you may be thinking, like, dang, Jason, that's kind of where I've been at, right? I know I want something, but I don't know exactly what it is. And that lack of specificity, ooh, I I killed it right there, right? But that lack of specificity, it really does get in the way of you being able to acquire and achieve the goal that you want. For instance, let's say you want to make a certain amount of money or you want to be successful financially, let's just use numbers, but you don't know what that number is. You don't know truly what that number looks like. So it's gonna be hard for you to have that vision to make it plain because you're confused or you're not sure about exactly where you want to go. Or you may be in your career, you've been in a career for a while, but it's like, you know what, you want more, but you're not exactly sure what more looks like. You're not clear on where you want to go. So this means an opportunity could be right in front of you, but you're not sure what what you want, so you can't take it, you can't seize the opportunity. The clearer that you get, the easier it's gonna be for you to attain vision and really have a clear path for you. Let's also say um the second thing is gonna be when you are just a little bit too maybe too overzealous, like you know what you want, but you you're not realistic. Yeah, let's say that. You're unrealistic about what it's gonna take to achieve this goal or to play out this vision. So then what this looks like is you become scatterbrained, or you may become frustrated with yourself because of the lack of progress getting in the way of you being able to execute. Because again, you know you have a concept of it. Like we've heard that term, I have a concept of what I want, but you don't know exactly what it is, or you're just unrealistic about the work that it's gonna it's going to take to achieve what you want. Now, let's say we talked about lack of clarity. We also talked about being a little bit too overzealous. Another thing that can get in the way truly of you having vision or being able to play it out is the fear of failure. Now, this is the thing. With failure does come risk, or with success comes risk. But if you're so scared that you don't actually take the step, the first step, then you will stay stuck. Now, this looks like playing it safe. Think about the area in your life where you know, like, yes, I I need more here, I want more in this area, I actually deserve more in this area of my life. And you got the vision, but what you don't have is the confidence to go after it. Because you tried to go after it before and it didn't work. So now you deem that as a failure and now you can't try it again. It hurt too bad. But you know what? That is truly a part of life. Turn that failure or that loss or what however you want to frame it, turn it into a lesson. What mistakes did you make? Or maybe it just wasn't your timing. But when you are so afraid to put yourself out there to actually get what you want, you're gonna find yourself really lacking clear vision and being able to have that inner peace and prosperity for you. So, like I'm, you know, if y'all been listening to the podcast, I'm married, been married almost 10 years now. So, in order for me to date my wife and propose to her and get married, all of that, there had to be a risk because she could have said no. Would that have stopped me? Probably so. No, I'm I'm joking. Like, it wouldn't have stopped me, but I would figure out what do I need to do to get her attention? How can I find out if we're compatible or not? How can I step my game up? Not just taking the oh man, it's not gonna work out or start beating myself up because it didn't go how I want it the first time around. That is what you call being afraid of taking that huge risk. So don't let fear of failure stop you from being great in the specific area of your life, especially if you know that you want more and you deserve more in that area. Even when it comes to your, you know, not just your personal romantic life, but when it comes to your career, don't be afraid to put yourself out there and be rejected. Maybe you you you're not as good as you think you are, maybe you need to step up your credentials, maybe you've been rushing it in certain areas or aspects, and really you need to redefine uh your skill set or figure out a better way to position yourself. All of these things just mean you need either more data, or maybe you need to try harder, you need more skills, more education, more credentials, whatever it means, but it does not mean that because you didn't get what you thought you deserved or you failed in one area that you just give up. When you do that, that's how you just lose your vision altogether. You don't even try. Another thing that will get in the way of you having great vision, is you will have what we call short-term thinking. You're only thinking about tomorrow, or you're only thinking about the next day, like it's very well it's the same thing, right? But you're only thinking like this far ahead, you're not thinking long term. So, for instance, if I know I want to achieve a goal of let's say, you know, getting married and and having kids, right? So I'm a new dad and proud to be a new dad, but that was a journey. So I've been married 10 years, but a father less than one. If I was only thinking in the short term, like it had to happen now, then I would have given up on that goal a long time ago. But I was thinking the future. I was thinking I'm in this for the long haul, and I'm going to do or we're going to do whatever it takes to achieve what we want in that area. That's where the faith comes into play, but also that's when you put in the work and your behaviors make a big difference too. Sometimes we only get stuck in the right now phase. Like if I don't have it right now, then maybe it's not in my vision or my vision board is off. That is definitely what we call like black and white thinking, or again, it's just short-term thinking. We got to start thinking long term down the field. For you, you are the quarterback of your life. And sometimes, if you watch football, sometimes they are running it two yards, three yards, five yards, and then they'll throw that thing up out there for like a 50 or 60 yard game. But the quarterback sees like I'm trying to get down the field despite how long it takes, or despite if I'm passing, running, what whatever play is being called. Think about your life. You may have to call different plays depending on what players you have to work with or what the circumstances are. You're gonna call a different play if you're feeling real up in this area in your life, or you're gonna, you know, run this different play if you know, hey, I'm struggling right here, so let me go back to the drawing board, but I'm not going to quit. And I'm not gonna think that just because I'm not moving the ball down the field right now, then I'm not gonna get a touchdown. Sometimes we get so caught up on just trying to throw up a Hail Mary, right? You just throwing up a wing and a prayer that you can't even be strategic about what you need to do for you. Be the quarterback, be patient, and execute. And if you notice this one thing about quarterbacks, they're making split-second decisions, but they're being calm all at the same time. All right, y'all. One more thing that gets in the way of us being able to have clear vision, the, and I would say this is probably one of the bigger things too, is we lack support and resources. What do I mean by that? That means that the people you have around you or the areas that you spend the most time in, they're not conducive to what your vision looks like. They don't see you getting where you want to go. So their behaviors, the language, how they interact with you, it keeps you right where you are. And you you're a part of that too, right? So don't think you can just point the finger and blame this person, blame your partner, blame your coworkers, blame your boss. No, you're part of that circle as well. But look at your circle, look at your support system, look at your resources. Am I using them to the best of my ability? Are these the people that are gonna help me get down the field? Or do I need to get different resources? Do I need to tap in to other things that I know I have access to or I need to learn more about? These are the things that are gonna help you reach that long-term success. And I'm telling y'all, I think vision is something that we underestimate. We don't give enough credit to because we think certain things are just supposed to happen, right? It's not gonna take work. I was talking to somebody a couple weeks ago, and I talked to them about like, you know, I'm in school right now, and they're in school, and I said, listen, we know it's the end of the semester. We got papers due, we have reports due, we have exams, all of that. You have to lock in. You have to tell yourself, no, I can't do X, Y, or Z until I have this done. And they're like, really? You have to be that strict with yourself? I'm like, yes. Again, I'm my biggest support to me. But then also the people around me, they know, like my wife knows if I have an exam due or something, she knows, like, hey, go ahead, knock it out. We're not, don't think about trying to take me out or do extra chores, get what you need to get done. That is support, and you need people in your life that are going to be, again, conducive and helpful for you getting where you need to go. Is stress and burnout taking a toll on your company's productivity and morale? Are you looking for ways to improve your employees' mental health and wellness? If so, it's time to invest in mental health support for your workplace. As a mental health expert and speaker, I provide solutions for creating a happier, healthier, and more productive workplace. This includes a range of services to help your employees cope with stress, anxiety, and other mental health challenges. I facilitate workshops and presentations designed specifically to help your employees develop resiliency, manage stress, and reduce burnout. So, why wait? Make mental health and wellness a priority in your workplace today and contact us so we can support you all. Alright, let's get back to the episode. So, now that we talked about some of the things that get in the way of us having vision, what are some of the things that we need to help us with the vision? I talked about support and you being the biggest support. Also, you have to value yourself. Meaning, don't look for other people to give you that validation to be your cheerleader. You have to value you. Affirm yourself. Y'all can't see um behind me, I don't think, yeah, but there's any type of trophy that I've won, certificates that I've achieved, my degrees. I keep them so as a reminder, like I know I've put in a lot of work. It is not to brag or be cocky, but it's to let me know like I'm I'm still valuing me, and I'm gonna validate, I'm gonna validate me before I look at to you to validate me. So let's get into like why vision is so important. One, we talked about when you don't have vision or when you don't have clarity or focus, it throws you off. But when you do have vision, it clarifies your purpose. So the vision that I have for my family was always to, you know, have longevity, have security, have love. And because I wanted those things, that made me go that much harder. We were having a disagreement, having a fight, I knew this is temporary, this is not long-term, it's not permanent. If I knew we were struggling in a certain area, okay, let's figure it out. But because I had the vision for us, the long-term vision, it made my purpose just be defined that much more. Like I'm not about to give up just because we're having a rough time or we disagree about something. Sometimes we let small things get us way off track and we're like, well, how did you even get there? Oh, you forgot about your purpose. You forgot that there are things that are bigger than you or things that you have committed to that keep you grounded even when you don't feel like it. Another reason why vision is so important, it does keep you motivated too. Like, we don't do anything without purpose, values, but also being motivated. Even the bad things, the things that we're not proud of, the things that we're like, man, why do I keep doing that? When I'm working with somebody to change their behavior, I always look at what is the what is the outcome that you're getting, what is the reward? Before I I'm not judging you, before we look at like why do you do that? What is the outcome? Like, what is driving you in that area? So having the vision keeps you intrinsically motivated. Sometimes when I'm working out, I don't feel like working out. If I'm being straight up honest with y'all, there are times, especially now with like juggling work, school, life stuff, fatherhood, all of that. I'm like, dang, I gotta work out too. But I know because I know where I want to be and how I want myself to look and feel, it keeps me motivated even when I'm like, don't feel like it. That that vision is there. I know when I when I eat healthy, when I follow my workout regimen, I know what I look like. I know what I feel like. The vision is there, so it keeps me going, even when I don't feel like it. I tell my swim coach all the time, I don't I don't desire to do it, but when I get into it, it's like, okay, cool. I'm so happy afterwards. But that's when you have vision. I can see the outcome before it even gets there. I hope that makes sense. Being in school right now, I'm like, man, I'm I'm finishing up my second year, like it's flying by. Soon I'll be, you know, writing and get ready to graduate. I saw that even when I first enrolled in the first class. That's what happens when you have the purpose, when you have the motivation. It helps make everything like crystal clear for you. When you have vision, it also aligns the goals that you have with the actions that you're taking. So now everything makes sense. It's still all strategic. So I'm thinking long term. I'm not thinking just like in the the here and now phase, which again, sometimes we get caught up doing that. We get stuck just like how we feel right now today. And life is not about that, it's not all about instant gratification. If you look at study delay gratification, y'all, the the biggest and best things that we can accomplish, they don't happen overnight. It takes some time. And this is no knock to you if you've had something just kind of given to you or you lucked up on something, but think about the things that really took work and effort. You value it much more. That relationship that you you've worked through the hard times, you value it much more. The de the degree, the business, the relationships with your family members, you value that much more than something that you can just like buy or just kind of it comes at you without any work being involved. Y'all, vision for yourself, vision for your life. When you put it all together, you can really sit back and like, dang, I've been working super hard, but I'm so proud of it because now I see the fruits of my labor. Last thing I'm gonna say about vision and why it's so so important. Having the vision, it pushes you and forces you to be creative. Because sometimes you might be doing something and you're like, man, I'm feeling stuck. But when you know, okay, this is just a temporary moment, you got to get creative and figure this out. Like now you go into your toolbox. How do I work through this problem? How do I get over this issue? Who do I call to ask for support? It pushes you out of your comfort zone because again, you know what the long-term goal is and what that long-term success looks like for you. I'm a huge, huge fan of vision boards. If you have not created a vision board, I would just encourage you to do so because it's going to bring out that creativity, it's going to force you to be specific on what you want. Vague terms are cool, you know, kind of like, all right, I want happiness, I want faith, I want more prayer. But then how many times do you want to pray? What are you praying for? How can you get a little bit more dialed in on what you want for you? When you do that, it makes the vision just come to life. I'll share, you know, some things that I put on my vision board. It really started to come into fruition and I wasn't even thinking about that. Like the car that I drive, I I I put I did a vision board a couple years ago and I was just like picking out different cars. It's not like I was thinking like, oh, this is my car. But then lo and behold, I got that car. And it looks exactly like it did in the vision board. Other things where I wanted to travel, that was on the vision board. Not me thinking like, oh, I want to travel to, you know, this state or this city or this country. But it was just I was really putting it on the vision board. But then it came, it happened, it came into fruition. I I I was like, wow, this really works. Not saying I didn't believe in it before. I've been doing vision boards for I think my first one for sure was like right out of grad school. But each time it gets more and more specific. So I've seen the value of having vision boards, having vision, period, but then I also know what gets in the way. When you're around people who don't believe in you, when you're not affirming yourself, all of these become roadblocks and stop you from living and enjoying your life. If you don't take anything away from this episode, one, have the right people around you, two, make sure you have clarity on what you want, and then three, don't be afraid to fail. Failure is is not that it's a it's a part of life in aspects, but really you're learning from every single failure and every loss. Don't let it get in the way of your vision. If you really want it, like if you for real really want it, work at it, get creative, get disciplined, get consistent, but do not, by all means, do not give up. Don't give up on your vision, y'all. All right, be blessed. Peace. Thank you all for listening to another episode of the Peace and Prosperity Podcast. Again, if you are feeling like, hey, I'm experiencing high-functioning anxiety, don't beat yourself up about it. It is okay. We all experience anxiety from time to time. And I gave you a couple of things that you can do on your own, but don't hesitate to reach out to a professional to better manage what you're going through. Okay, and lastly, make sure if you have not, like, share, subscribe to the podcast, and send this out to a friend. And if you want to hear certain episodes or have certain conversations, let me know. You can shoot me a DM or just leave a review, and I will definitely follow up. Alright, y'all. Be blessed. Peace.