On Vision Boards
A Visual Way to Keep You Focused
It’s the age-old question that has plagued creative types for centuries: how to remain focused on a goal?
For years, I lived this on a daily basis. In addition to being an artist with multiple interests, I also live with ADHD… which compounds the “Oooo SHINY!!!” level of magpie-like distraction1. It made decision-making challenging at best.
But no more! My simplest, 90s-era hack for staying focused is to make yourself a vision board.
The premise is simple: if you’re a visual type, you will want something visual to remind you of your why.
When I made this vision board in early 2023 in response to an assignment for art ministry school, I honestly wasn’t expecting much. This tool, however cheesy and old-school, has paid off in dividends with its ability to keep me focused on walking toward the end goal rather than leaping off into the weeds.
Here’s how I did it, so you can, too:
First, I recommend spending some time in prayer and contemplation. For this to work, you need a basic blueprint of what your strengths are, where you come most alive, The Dream.
Find some photos that elicit an intense, visceral, emotional response related to where you want to end up. This is less about assembling must haves; it’s about honing in on the feel of The Dream. Print them off, cut them out of magazines, photocopy them. You may even want to draw some things.
Now, go back to your blueprint notes and isolate a few key statements that resonate with you as pivotal to the The Dream and write them out or print them. Mine were five things I felt strongly about accomplishing that tied all the desires for art-making, roaming wild spaces, and adventuring together. It may be hard, but limit yourself to just a few statements — you want to see and feel more than read and reason2.
Arrange all the photos and statements on a piece of poster board and channel your inner kindergartener. Have fun arranging and glueing!
When your board is dry, hang it up somewhere you can see it every day.
That last point is very important, because every day we are faced with decisions that either take us closer to our goals or farther away from them. You need to be able to look at your board, your Dream, your Why whenever you are faced with a decision about your path and ask yourself “Does this align with what I have outlined here? Will this decision take me closer to where I want to go, or farther away from it?”
In the last year-and-then-some since graduating art ministry school and discerning that God’s path for me was to become a full-time artist and art educator, I have frequently used my board to remind myself why I’m doing what I’m doing when the going gets hard, or when opportunities show up that look good, but aren’t quite what I had in mind3.
This simple, effective board has enabled me to say Yes to the right opportunities, while screening out the others without guilt.
One other last point: I advocate for a tangible vision board rather than a digital one, because out of sight, out of mind is a very Real Thing. You’re not on your computer or your phone every moment of the day, and if you are, you’re probably doing other things than scrolling your Pinterest boards or Canva. There is power in the real and tangible that we miss in the digital.
So that’s it! Have fun brainstorming and creating, and as always,
In folklore, Magpies are often associated with thievery of shiny objects. The truth of the matter is, however, that they are no more drawn to collecting shiny objects than dull ones according to this Science News article. Who can say why the bird likes to collect things any more than I can say why I’m drawn to 4 different kinds of art mediums, 14 different musical instruments, dancing in my yard with brightly colored scarves, Shakespearean prose, medieval illuminated manuscripts, and roaming the wild places in search of oddities like a female Indiana Jones? Who can say? I certainly can’t.
Many psychologists have noted that when we are not emotionally invested into our goals, when it isn’t something we really and truly want, we are less likely to stay committed to achieving them. When we are fully committed, we are more likely to see success.
Pastor Craig Cooney has been teaching lately on the ‘almost opportunities’: the ones the enemy places before you to distract you from God’s Best. You want God’s Best for your life, not a cheap, devil-made substitute!