Why You Need a Goal-setting Vision Board | Why We Don’t Get Goal-setting Vision Boards Right | How To Set Goals That Work | How To Make a Vision Board for Manifestation | Vision Board Ideas | Final Thoughts

Creating a goal-setting vision board isn’t an easy thing to do. It’s a serious business that starts with you dedicating enough time to it. And just like the term suggests, it’s a vision board that reflects your goals and helps imprint your vision into your brain subconsciously.

But how do you create one that works? This article explores what you can do better to make your board work for you!

Why Do You Need a Goal-setting Vision Board?

If your goals are clearly defined and written down, what’s next? 

Try to picture it! 

We use bar charts and pie charts to visualize concepts and figures because it’s easier for our brains to remember them. It’s easier to remember and work towards something you can mentally picture than something you can’t. That’s how goals work too. 

This explains why the question “where do you see yourself in 10 years?” or “what do you want to be in life?” require visually-based answers. It also explains why people who can’t picture themselves in the future have a harder time knowing what they want from life or want to do with theirs. But why don’t we get them right?

Related article: 6 Steps on How to Create A Vision Board for You and Your Business 

Why Don’t We Get Goal-setting Vision Boards Right?

1. No Actionable Steps

A vision board requires a vision and an action. The board is just the first part of a two-step process where it serves as a muse or reminder that inspires us to get to work.

For example, if you plan to double your business revenue, you must take actionable steps. Simply writing it down or making a complete analysis of how to get there won’t help double your revenue if you don’t take action.

2. Crowded Goals

You don’t need to crowd your head or manifestation board with many goals. Too many goals are counterproductive. It is best practice to focus on your core goals or needs. 

3. Neglecting Your Wheel of Life

You can create a goal board that features every aspect of your wheel of life but only focus on one or two at a time. Remember that we don’t want to crowd our goal-board or lives by trying to achieve too many goals simultaneously. 

Alternatively, if everything can’t fit into one board, you can create a goal board for each aspect of your life — e.g., a career or mental health vision board.

PS: A wheel of life is a concept that breaks down our lives into different factions: career & business, finances, family & friends, love & romance, recreation (fun & leisure), self-care (health & wellness or physical & mental health), personal growth & learning (personal development), physical environment (your contribution to society).

In conclusion, create your goals based on your core values. Such goal-setting ultimately boosts happiness.

How To Set Goals That Work

Setting goals helps create a clearly defined path or steps to what you want, when you want it, if it’s achievable/realistic, its relevance to your dream life, and key indices to tell if it’s working for you.

You can’t accidentally set up a business that’s doing well or find a balance between work and life if you don’t work toward it. Here’s how to set goals:

1. Start With the End Goal

At the end of the day, what’s that goal you’re trying to reach? What’s the big picture? Is it you being a highly successful and healthy small business owner with a happy family? 

Pro Tip: Pick an ultimate goal for each aspect of your wheel of life. 

You can focus on some aspects of your life’s wheel because some ultimate goals might overlap. It certainly won’t be surprising to see finances overlapping with career and business. Or family & friends, love & romance, and recreation all overlapping with each other.

2. Write Your Goals Down 

Write them out and break down your end goals into bite-sized pieces by being SMART.

Use the SMART framework to keep your goals:

• Specific — what exactly is it
• Measurable — what are the KPIs or measurement index?
• Attainable — is it realistic?
• Relevant — does it align with your core values, and 
• Time-bound — how long should it take?

3. Phrase Your Goals Rightly 

Phrase your goals rightly and ensure that the underlying motivation for each goal is correctly guided. 

For example, your driving force to wanting to earn more shouldn’t be because you want to feel like you belong when with certain friends. Another example is taking a vacation you can’t afford just because a friend’s family went there on their last vacation.

Instead, make it something like, “I want to earn higher so I can provide for my family and go on my dream vacation without the cost being a hindrance,” or “I want to increase my revenue so I can pay my employees better, and grow my business’.”

4. Have Priorities

Using your life’s wheel, every aspect of your life is at a different point. For some aspects, you’re doing better than others, hence focusing equally on them will further widen the gap. So pick what’s important to focus on now and do just that.

5. Create a Road Map To Attaining Your Goals

What do you need to double your business’ profits? What will it take to get a relevant business certification? And what challenges will you likely face, and how do you overcome them?

Your goal board should encompass your goals along with the success path and challenges you’ll face on the way. Moreover, it is meant to visually represent your end goal by focusing on the bit-sized goals and the journey to attaining them.

Pro Tip: Prepare plans B and C just in case plan A fails.

6. Keep Yourself in Check

Consider having an accountability system to help keep you in check and track progress and be grateful for little wins.

7. Failure Is Another Step

See failure as just another step to reaching your goals and embrace it when it comes. Here’s an article on how to use failure as a strategy for success.

Related: How To Get Anything Done by Going from Goal to Action

How To Make a Vision Board for Manifestation to Work

Before you dive right into making a manifestation (vision or goal) board, here’s what you should know about making a vision board for manifestation:

1. Visualize Your Vision

Have a clear mental picture of what your vision is. If your mental picture is lacking heavily, your vision board won’t do justice.

2. Have Faith and Believe

Believe in your ability to see your goals through. They aren’t bigger than you, and you can nail them all! Focus on what you lack but need. Then shift your focus to that lack till it becomes an abundance.

3. Stay Present

If you’re stuck in the past, thinking about how easy it might have been or how tough achieving future goals is, you’ll never quite make it past the present. Stay in the present and work hard at realizing your goals.

4. Stay Away From Social Media

With increasing access to other people’s lives on social media, it’s quite easy to fall prey to including the desires of others rather than their own. Hence why it’s necessary to stay present in your life and question the underlying motivation for each goal. 

5. Take Action

Goals only come alive when we take action. Stop slouching, sit up, and get to work – your goals are waiting for you! Manifestation starts with visualizing (picturing your desires) and ends in reality, that is, taking actions to bring those desires into reality.

Vision Board Ideas

Regardless of if you’re making your vision board at the beginning of the year or on some random date within the year, here are some vision board ideas to get started with:

1. Pictures 

It’s always a good idea to have visually-appealing pictures that reflect your goals on your goal board. These pictures will most likely form the core of your board and stimulate your brain.

Good sources of pictures include magazines, newspapers, old artworks, postcards, or printed online images.

2. Artworks or Doodles

For the creatives, it makes sense to get a little messy and arty! Do some cool drawings to include on your goal board. This will also make your creation unique and personalized.

And no, the doodles or artwork must not be professional or elaborate. It could be a doodle that documents the milestones of your ultimate goal. 

3. Quotes, Words, or Self-affirmations

It wouldn’t make much sense to crowd your goal board with texts. Why? Because it’s primarily meant to be visually based, the focus is on pictures, not texts.

But quotes, words, and self-affirmations are important ingredients to help cement your board as a source of inspiration.

4. Go Digital

Having a digital copy will always come in handy, especially when you’re the type of person who travels quite often. 

You can always take a picture of your physical goal board and print it out or create a digital one using an app like Canva or Milanote, which has various templates to pick from.

>>> Find a goal-setting vision board template that works for you and get started here.

Final Thoughts

A goal-setting vision board is a good idea, especially as we approach the new year. However, when done differently, it can make for just another artwork stuck on our walls. 

Hence, you should take time and develop SMART goals that reflect your desires and values. Then work to get them. Good luck.