Vision Boards: Why they are crucial now more than ever!

I am sharing this picture because it embodies what I envisioned for this year. Wow, has that changed y’all! Social distancing is not happening in that picture and no one is using a mask. Oh how I miss brainstorming with other creatives around a table where the energy feels like crackling electricity. I grieve the loss of the intense social interactions I had on the regular before the Covid pandemic. Change always happens, big or small. This year may have hijacked many plans but it is time friends, time to take back our time and energy to move forward with our dreams, goals and plans.

Usually, December would be the time to be prepping a Vision Board for your year. However, much of what we planned for 2020 needs a refresh. Now is the perfect time to do it. Like the old saying goes, there is no time like the present. Lets get started.

Why do you need a vision board?

Circumstances change! Your circumstances may change but your dreams and goals do not have to. It can be difficult to stay focused when you have a year where you are constantly needing to go back to the drawing board. Hey, sometimes, that need to pivot or start over might be exactly what you need to make the accomplishment of your goals better than they ever could have been!

Scope Creep I don’t know about you but I am a spherical dreamer. I am often not logical and I love to say yes to new ideas. “Scope Creep” is what happens when you don’t have a clear decisive plan for the vision of your goals. Imagine building a house without set blue prints. Half way through the build, you decide to add vaulted ceilings only now you have encroached on the plans for that large master bathroom. Just like discouraging negative emotions due to changing circumstances, positive emotions can also carry you away from your objective. You can easily get distracted by excitement for new ideas and perspectives. I am super empathic so if someone else’s energy is all creative excitement with new ideas, I can easily lose focus. A good vision board takes me back to what my goal is, my plans and how any new ideas could positively or negatively impact my vision.

Tyranny of the Urgent This means that the needs of day to day life can easily distract us from the dreams and goals we have for our future. One big one for me right now is assisting my children with their virtual learning while maintaining our home. It takes so much time and energy that it would be easy to forget or set aside the dreams and goals I desire to accomplish. Going back to my vision board, I can see my reasons for the goal in the first place, why it matters and get encouragement to stay strong and stay the course. Below is a picture of my vision board. On it is a picture of successful women who work with HGTV. These women have normal lives but they made their passions and dreams a priority. I can as well!

Do you want to jump on the Vision Board wagon? Here are some things that would be fantastic on your very own Vision Board.

Materials: A vision board is for you by you and no one else so really, you can use what ever you want. What do you want your vision board to accomplish? I am visually motivated so things like cute washi tape and colorful markers are a must for me. Maybe they distract you so minimalist is your game and that is totally okay. I grabbed a poster board, tape, note cards and a few magazines then went to work.

The words you need. What do you need to motivate yourself and stay focused? For me, I wrote questions to ask myself every day to stay focused, quotes, Bible Verses and encouraging information. One thing I added is a list of major accomplishments in my life so on those days when I feel inadequate, I can see that I am capable of great things. What are your goals? Why do they matter to you? What are the steps to achieve these goals? What are some dreams you have that haven’t been things you thought could be real life goals? What are some areas you need to challenge your self to grow in?

Location, location location! My parents were real estate agents so I heard this mantra all the time. Location matters more than anything else. You can make the best vision board but if it isn’t in a place you will see very day, you absolutely will forget it. I have my vision board on my closet door so I see it every single morning.

That is it for the why and how of vision boards but I have one more very important thing to add. A vision board is not meant to become a crutch or tempt you to feel like a failure. A significant pit fall of this year is all the goals we are unable to accomplish because of the current pandemic. I talk on Episode 3 of my podcast, Coffee Break with Katie, about a big dream of mine that didn’t happen this year for me. Here is the key thing that keeps me from being over come by feelings of failure. My identity is not in what I have done, what I will do or even what I think of myself. As a Christ follower, I find my identity in who God is and who He says I am. That never changes. He loves me. I’m hand made by him, for him and nothing changes that. I always need that reminder every morning before I start my day.

We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared before hand, that we can walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

I would love to see what your vision board looks like! What dreams do you have? What are your goals? What important quotes or Bible Verses do you go back to for inspiration? Head on over to Katie A McConnell on Instagram or share on your own page using the hashtag, #coffeebreakwithkatie and we can inspire each other today!