Connect to Your Purpose Every Day: How To Make a Vision Board
By: Steven R. Durgin
Tags: Personal Growth, Goals, Productivity, Self Improvement, Habits

Connect to Your Purpose Every Day: How To Make a Vision Board

Image by the Author

I hate to accept this, but I am capable of forgetting who I am.

I wrote those words in my journal after finishing my master’s. After seven straight years of higher ed, it dawned on me that much of my life had been a hectic pattern of reactivity — surviving each day by simply responding to each urgent thing as it came up. Somewhere along the way, I had quietly given up on my creativity. I had stopped reading fiction for years. (I wanted to, but with all of my assigned readings, life felt sufficiently booked.) Despite my longings for some kind of adventure, I hardly ever left campus —the mere notion felt like a selfish indulgence. And even though I was surrounded by wonderful people, I turned inward, foregoing deeper friendships, and defaulting to a lonelier, self-reliant approach to finishing that chapter of life.

And there, looking out from a gazebo by the campus pond, I began to breathe again. I felt like a stranger to myself, suddenly aware of this person inside me who wanted things: creativity, adventure, friendship, and so on.

That moment adjusted my trajectory. I made a decision to fight for proactivity — the practice of gathering awareness, tapping into my deepest values, and setting intentions for my life.

Reclaiming My Vision

After three years of experiments in self-management, I discovered the vision board — not the wacky collages of magazine clippings that some folks make for inspiration (to each their own), but a 2' x 3' whiteboard devoted to my (1) values (2) personal statements (3) goals and (4) mantras.

I had put my dreams and goals to paper before, using journals and planners, but these tools were designed to store information, not to keep it in front of me. Anything I wrote, no matter how stirring and clear, was liable to be forgotten, buried page by page. Dreams begin in the heart, but if they are to become anything else, they cannot stay there. Lesson learned: don’t put your dreams somewhere you won’t look.

I was resolved that I wouldn’t lose sight of my dreams again, so I literally put them in front of me.

The Vision Board represents a decision to move dreams toward reality by making them external, concrete, and visible. Your vision is no longer something reserved for nights of reflection under a starry sky. It becomes part of the furniture of your life--something you use, touch, adjust, and discuss.

Put simply, the purpose of a vision board is threefold: to clarify, to motivate, and to remind.

It clarifies by inviting regular reflection on what matters most to you, and forcing you through the difficult process of articulating your wants.

It motivates by tracking and celebrating your wins, using language that stirs you, and turning big dreams into visible, doable steps.

It reminds by connecting those steps to the big picture, visually prompting you to complete priority tasks. Perhaps more importantly, it reminds you of who you are — a safeguard to protect you against the numbing soul-drift that I experienced in grad school.

How to Make Your Own Vision Board

Refining a vision board to a satisfying point may take time and effort, but you can get a working version on the wall within hours. Here are the four things I believe every vision board should have and how to craft them.

1. Values

It helps to begin with values because they can provide guidance (and even direct language) for the other aspects of your board, such as personal statements and goals. Once refined, your values will consist of 4–6 qualities of life that you want to grow into for the foreseeable future.

Here are mine: adventure, creativity, friendship, interdependence, hospitality, curiosity.

I didn’t just pull those out of thin air, by the way. Rather than staring at a blank piece of paper and wondering what your values are, I suggest you borrow a long, juicy list of values that others have already put together.

My favorite is the list provided by Eve Rodsky’s Fair Play system.

It looks like this:

Image by Eve Rodsky https://www.fairplaylife.com/

How do I pick my values?

Start circling the values that speak to you — as many as you want.

Then, remove the values that feel too easy or too hard to cultivate.

The values that make it to your board should be somewhere between the “Givens” and the “Maybe-One-Days.” They aren’t already second nature but neither are they purely aspirational.

The super hard stuff doesn’t belong on your values list because it is meant to encourage you and remind you of who you are, not judge you for failing to live up to some standard.

The stuff that doesn’t interest you? Don’t put it here. Your values are for you. This is about giving yourself daily permission to lean in to who you truly are.

The bottom line: for this season of life, choose the values which are imperative to cultivate and possible to forget.

Example: In my case, flexibility is a given. I don’t have to work at being flexible. Is it important? Absolutely. But do I need to focus on developing it right now? No, because I can’t imagine losing that quality. On the other end of the spectrum, civic engagement sounds like a nice idea, but it would be too aspirational to make strides in this area at this point in my life.

On the other hand, one of the values that made my list was creativity. Am I naturally creative? Yes. But is it possible for me to neglect my desires in the name of productivity and turn into a self-deprived monk? Also yes. I have too many opportunities in life where I found myself shutting down the creative side of myself because it felt indulgent or inconvenient. Now, I want to put this value in front of me, because it is a key part of who I am, but still needs attention.

Tip: If you have trouble narrowing it down, draw a few lines to connect clusters of similar values together, like “adventure” and “risk-taking,” or “achievement” and “ambition.”

After some work with a digital marker, my list looks like this:

Image by Eve Rodsky https://www.fairplaylife.com/ ; Modified by the Author

Finally, choose one word from each cluster that best captures what you want to cultivate.

Once you’ve whittled your values down to the 4–6 range, you’re ready for the next step.

2. Personal Statements

Photo by Norbert Kundrak from Pexels

Once you’ve picked your values, you probably have a fresh sense of what deeply matters to you. This is a ripe time for thinking about making a personal statement — a brief, powerful articulation of your purpose that energizes you and keeps you on track.

Some people are uptight about the difference between a “vision statement” a “mission statement,” etc. That’s not a hill I would die on. I ended up with two statements (whatever you’d like to call them) and I benefit greatly from both.

(1) “I am on an adventure with my dearest friends to change the world. We are using our gifts in business and in ministry to seek justice, show radical love, and grow together in diverse community. I am writing, speaking, and gathering people into the fellowship.”

(2) “I was made to communicate, create, and connect with people, inspiring them to live a holistic, abundant life.”

I don’t expect you to feel a thing when you read those. That’s why they’re called “personal” statements. But every time I read them aloud, it injects a little bit of life into me. I get a bit clearer on what I want. I feel lifted, ever so slightly, to something high and worth fighting for. I am reminded of who I am.

The point is to find language that does the same for you — a statement that clarifies, motivates, and reminds.

To start on your own personal statement, consider using your values. (You can see that some of mine were woven in — friendship, adventure, and creativity, and so on.) You can copy and paste directly from your values list if needed, but use language that feels empowering.

Here’s the basic formula:

You + Key Verbs + Sense of Life Purpose = A Personal Statement

Let’s break it down.

You: Yes, this is about you and that’s okay! This statement is about living out your values and building your dreams, so make it unapologetically you. Mine is a tad grandiose (what with changing the world and all) but hey, that’s what spoke to me.

Key Verbs: What do you love to do? When do you feel most alive? What activities get you into a state of flow? Make a list of these verbs and start playing with sample phrases.

Sense of Life Purpose: As far as you can tell, what are you on this earth to accomplish? Describe the difference you hope to make. I picture people being inspired to live fuller lives. I picture a diverse community where people can use their gifts. What do you see on the other side of your best efforts?

3. Goals

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Whatever your goal system, try putting your goals on the vision board. They could be SMART or they could be less spelled out. You could organize them into quarterly, monthly, and weekly goals, or you could ignore time altogether.

But to ensure that your vision board is motivating, I have one tip for this section:

Goals are only motivating if they are big enough to inspire and small enough to accomplish.

If it bores you, it is too small or otherwise feels disconnected from a larger, inspiring goal.

If it overwhelms and condemns you, it is too big or otherwise feels disconnected from actionable steps.

In my case, weekly frequencies are the focus. This keeps me engaged with my board almost daily, but not bogged down with tedious details. I simply check the boxes to track the number of days that I exercise, and I reach for five days per week. At the end of the week, I reset. That’s it.

To keep things exciting, I also created a separate section for “milestones” — objectives of any size that haven’t been translated into timelines. One of them — “buy podcasting gear” — could be done in a day provided I have the cash, while “Invest in Real Estate” is a bigger fish to catch.

Again, do what works for you, but the key with vision boards is to put your goals somewhere that you will see them.

4. Mantras

Photo by nicollazzi xiong from Pexels

Finally, put some words on your board that you need to hear often.

Perhaps it’s a quote that sticks out to you or a meditative mantra that helps you ground yourself and reengage your tasks.

I use my mantras section to prompt relaxation and nurture my patience.

For example, “open hands” is a literal instruction. Whenever I see it, I step back from what I’m doing and turn my palms upward — a small gesture that reminds me I can’t control everything and keeps me receptive to whatever comes my way.

“A little bit goes a long way” reminds me of the beauty and importance of small things, and motivates me to do seemingly mundane tasks.

“Breathe” — well, I hope you can figure out what that one means.

Last but not least, I have “everything takes longer than it does.” I chuckle at this quote. It brings a little levity into the mix and reminds me to be patient, especially if I have fallen behind schedule.

Tips that make your board as useful as possible

Put it somewhere you will see it every day (or every workday)

Use a type of board that is easy to edit as you grow (dry erase gets my vote)

Use color — this can make it a bit more attractive and organized for the eyes

Remember, you don’t have to get this “right” the first time. Iteration is one of the benefits of looking at your vision board often, and more likely than not, you will edit your board to grow with you.

Life with Clarity

After using my Vision Board for one year, I can say that I have reduced forgetfulness, achieved my weekly goals 20% more often, and most importantly, I’ve improved my quality of life by tapping into my values and bravely going after my dreams.

So what do you see for yourself? What version of the world do you imagine just on the horizon?