How Creating a Vision Board Can Keep You on Track with Your Goals
Vision boards are powerful tools that can help turn ideas into action. Walking by your vision board and seeing a daily reminder of what you’re working toward can motivate you to keep yourself focused on what’s important.
Life is busy, and it’s easy to become distracted by everything going on in the real world and online. In 2023, we don’t want you to waste another year overstimulated by the what-ifs, could-haves, and if-onlys. Your most important goals can be the driving force behind a great year to come.
Reasons you should make a vision board in 2023
- Create more clarity and less stress
- Boost your motivation
- Improve your decision-making
More clarity, less stress
During the pandemic, we all carried a shared grief for a moment in time. We weren’t sure what the future had in store, but we were all being dragged along by the tides of uncertainty.
Not having clarity on our future weighed on our minds; we all have an inherent longing to have control over our lives.
A vision board gives clarity on your future by visually organizing your thoughts and desires. No matter what twists and turns life throws at you, you’ll have a clear sight of your end goal. You might not know how or when you’ll get there, but there’s a belief that comes with seeing — as the saying goes, “seeing is believing.”
Boost your motivation
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could increase the number of days you felt motivated? We believe that small wins add up. Whether you’re trying to break a bad habit or create a new one, small wins are the building blocks of lasting change. How does that apply to your vision board?
Vision boards, much like small wins, reinforce your aspirations and deepen your connection with your goals. You won’t accomplish your goals overnight, but the repetitive habit of seeing your goals, making small positive steps towards accomplishing them, and repeating it over and over will wire your brain to crave this motivational cycle.
Improve your decision-making
Let’s say you’re trying to lose weight and as a result, you’ve set a general goal of “eating more healthfully.” It’s not too difficult to wing it for a few days or weeks, but once your goals aren’t as fresh in your mind, your decision-making becomes less influenced by your goals and more by your urges.
On the other hand, if you rephrase your goal to something more specific like, “I’m going to stick to a Keto diet,” and you place a picture (with step-by-step instructions) on your vision board, it takes the minute-to-minute decisions out of the equation.
Results don’t come to those that have the strongest willpower — they come to those who have set themselves up for success. Once you create a structured routine, you leave less to chance and make decision-making less of a necessity.
What should you include on your vision board?
Vision boards can benefit you in a number of ways, but what makes a good vision board? It should capture your imagination, inspire you into action, and feel attainable. Depending on your personal goals, topics could include: career, finance, health & fitness, relationships goals, and more. Beyond the specifics, here are some additional things to keep in mind when creating your vision board.
Visual elements
What good is a vision board if there’s nothing cool to look at? Your vision board should POP. Include colors that brighten your mood, add pictures that look attainable, and maybe even add something that’ll incentivize you to make some changes once in a while. If you want a good example of a vision board that draws you in, take a look at this template.
Here are some additional ideas that you can add to your vision board:
- Inspirational quotes
- Photographs/images of places you want to visit
- List of all the TV shows & movies you’ve watched this year
- Books on your to-read list
Your end goal
Include photos or items that are either milestones on your journey — or represent the end result you hope to achieve. So, if your goal is to run a half marathon, maybe you want to start by setting a training schedule for a 5–10k race.
Also, leave room for unexpected circumstances, so that one missed workout, run, or writing session doesn’t completely derail your hopes and plans. Build the right habits and mindset, and you’ll get there at your own pace.
Rules, habits, and budgets
If it helps, for every dream or goal that has multiple steps involved, add a sticky note that outlines the steps you’ll take to reach it.
These notes can include any number of things, but here are some examples:
- Finance: Subscription expenses, grocery expenditure, bills, spending allowance for fun/recreation, etc.
- Health & Fitness: Daily nutrition intake requirements, workout routines, goal weight, do-not-eat list, etc.
- Career: Skills to develop, roadmap to your dream job, salary goals, work/life balance goals, etc.
- Relationships: Make x number of friends, friendships you’d like to develop, time allotted to spend with friends & family, etc.
Let’s go, 2023!
Are you ready to turn a new leaf and accomplish every goal you have in 2023? Use our customizable and printable vision boards — they’re Canva templates that are meant to be used and shared.
Good luck bringing your dreams to life!
