Vision Board | 2023
“The clearer your vision becomes, the easier it is to guard what God calls you to do.”
-Craig Groeschel
A few years ago I found myself speeding towards the last two weeks of the year. Like everyone else I knew, I set goals and had big dreams for the year that was now quickly coming to an end. I found myself frustrated and wondering where the time had gone. I had the best intentions when I set those goals. I did all the right things: prayed, surrendered, wrote them down, and then…promptly forgot about them in the chaos of the year. Sound familiar?
How did that happen? And more importantly, how could I be a person who made commitments and then honored them?
Those were the questions I set about answering because I am the type of person who has to have a purpose for everything. Just setting goals because “that’s what you’re supposed to do” doesn’t work for me. I began researching goal setting methods, planners, how to cast a vision, resilience, commitment, searching Scripture, all the things. I stumbled across a few really helpful resources (I’ll link those below) but I also sort of had an epiphany.
While most people are content to set goals that revolve around them, God was asking me to focus more on who I was becoming and who He wanted me to be. He was asking me to think bigger. So, I changed things up. That year I tried setting 3 simple “goals” that aligned with who I felt like God was asking me to become. That year my “goals” were:
To become a faithful servant of Jesus Christ
To be a fearless lover
To work for the Lord, not for men
Then, I used the SMART acronym (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) to work through answering a few questions: “what does this look like every day?” “What would it look like to accomplish these goals?" “What is God asking of me in each area?” Before I knew it, I had some very measurable actions to align with those goals. For example, with my first goal I knew God was asking me to serve in my church. I didn’t know exactly where but I began praying that God would help reveal where I should serve and He did. I continued in that same pattern for each goal.
When I reflected on my goals at the end of that year, I found that for the first time in my entire life I truly felt like I accomplished them or at least made significant progress towards accomplishing them. But really, it was more than that. I felt like I had changed for the better. This process slowly developed into a kind of system that I now use every year to set goals. What I learned throughout this journey was that I could set and accomplish all of the goals I wanted to - lose 15 pounds, start a hobby, read my Bible more - but if those goals weren’t rooted in the vision God has for my life then I failed or they didn’t really matter.
As a result of that discovery, I started creating what I would call a digital vision board in 2019 to see my goals come to life. I typically begin working on this during the last week of the year and take time to pray through each step. These are the things I add to my vision board each year:
A Scripture that focuses my year (of course, I pray for clarity on this ahead of time)
A few pictures that cast a visual vision for my year (some are my pictures, some are from Pinterest)
A clear list of “goals” that all relate to the vision God has for my life
And just for fun, a little color palette that I am loving at the moment
Once I complete my vision board, I will set it as my wallpaper everywhere: laptop, desk monitor, iPhone. This step may seem simple but it is so powerful - what you see and what you dwell on is who you become. Then, I break those main goals into time-bound ones with more detail. I use my Full Focus Planner (the best planner in the entire world) to get very detailed about those goals, including what quarter of the year I expect to complete that goal. I am heading into year 5 with this system and I have to say, it works. I have met every goal that I’ve made since figuring out this system. For me, it really helps that it is so much fun and something I look forward to doing every year. It’s also aesthetically pleasing, which doesn’t hurt.
And, I guess, if I could leave you with one last thing it is this: it’s not really about the goals. It is about who you want to be in one year, five years, ten. It’s about the person God has uniquely made you to be and figuring out His plan for your life. Really, as contradictory as it seems, it is bigger than you. My goal is that my goals would leave a legacy long after I’m gone. That they would make this world a little better, one goal and one year at a time. That they would make me more like Christ, not just skinnier or happier. That they build a life that God is proud of, that I’m proud of. That’s the goal.
As promised, here are my favorite resources for setting goals:
I use the coiled oatmeal FFP and I LOVE it! It can be a little overwhelming at first, but they have a ton of resources and a Facebook Page for new users to ask questions, share tips, and get advice. This system, like every system, is designed to make it work for you, so get creative and carve out some time to learn how to use it. Maybe I’ll do a post on how I use my FFP soon 😉
You can create a free account on Canva that will give you access to a ton of templates for vision/mood boards. I always make this a fun process by making my favorite iced coffee, playing a good playlist, and lighting a candle.
The BEST tool for creating a visual picture of what you want your life to look like. I also make a board for each year where I keep pins that match my vision - so fun!
I would love to hear from you, especially if this post helped you or resonated with you. I would also love to see your vision boards. You can connect with me on social media (links below) and share them! Life is better together and I’d love to see your goals come to life.
