I’ve been creating vision boards since I was in middle school. I have a photo of myself standing in my bedroom (based on my big hair, I’m guessing eighth grade), and I have a large poster board on my wall that is filled with magazine cut-outs, photos, words, and drawings—everything my little heart desired. We called them collages.
I wholeheartedly believe in the power of affirmations and positive thinking, but I have learned to ditch the vision board mentality.
For one, as a busy mom, I don’t have the time. I’m a creative person and would spend hours on my board.
Two, there’s Pinterest for that.
Three, and this is the big one; most of the things on my vision boards didn’t pan out the way they were so beautifully designed and planned. I would find myself disappointed too often. The last vision board I made was in January 2020. When I saw the board several months later, I was mad, like most of us were at the time, so I burned it in my fireplace. A bit dramatic, but I felt it was called for. I vowed never to create a vision board again. Also dramatic at that time, but I held to it. I’m happy I did.
I’m not against having visions and plans and goals; it’s more about keeping it all flexible, not being rigid, and teaching the kids to accept change and roll with it. I still have ideas for creating the life of my dreams, but I put it all forth into the world via other avenues.
I’ve turned my focus to nurturing my goals and plans for my family and myself through various habits. I find regular habits work better for me than a once-a-year vision board. We discuss our goals at dinner; this is once a week if I’m lucky. I like talking about what we are grateful for and praising the good happening now. Journaling regularly is important for me, and I aim at the end of each writing to thank God for the blessings in my life.
I have a large dry-erase whiteboard in my kitchen and regularly write questions for my family on it; they can answer in their own time. Questions like, what are you grateful for today? Write a compliment to someone who helped you this week. Where would you like to go in the world? If you could change one thing about your bedroom, what would it be? While not everyone always answers, I have loved seeing what they write. It’s eye-opening.
My husband and I always have a running list of places we’d like to visit, with and without children. I use Pinterest a lot with this one.
If a quote speaks to me, I’ll write it on a sticky note where I can see it for a while or even write it on a mirror in my house.
Maybe you pray. Maybe you journal. Talking to a friend or family member who shares similar interests and ideas can excite you for what’s to come. If you love creating your vision boards, then, by all means, do it! It’s important to have something to look forward to, and teaching our kids to set goals is a great habit for getting them into it.
