“Ridiculous” Goals: How & Why To Create a Vision Board

I told one of my clients that I was setting “ridiculous” goals for 2019. They chuckled a little bit but not because they thought it was something out of the realm of possibility, at least for me, but because they realized that there was nothing wrong with setting ridiculous goals. The moment I made this grand statement, I recalled that for as far back as I could remember I’ve been setting ridiculous goals. The thinking has been that if I set a very, very high goal, even if I reached halfway towards that goal it was still at major accomplishment. (Think about it!)

Two ways that I’ve always ruminated on my ridiculous goals is by writing them down, both in a journal and visually on a poster board (a “vision board”). A vision board is nothing but goal setting in pictures, word and short phrases. It is a way to keep your vision of your ridiculous goals always at the forefront of your mind because you can always look at them.

Every year, not only do I encourage all of my clients to create a vision board for their own ridiculous goals, but I’ve also done it with my closest friends by hosting a vision board party.  It doesn’t require much, just a few tools and a little imagination!

Creating Your Own Vision Board

  1. Set a ridiculous goal(s). What is it that you’re wanting to accomplish? Do you want to be the CEO of your current company? Do you want to complete a triathlon? Do you want to find the job of your dreams? Do you want to find a new friend system that supports you the way you’ve always needed to be supported? Do you want to have a marriage that feels amazing and is way better than you could ever imagine? Do you want to make $1,000,000?
  2. Jot down your ridiculous goals, no matter how big they are. Then, decide what actions you can do to make that goal happen. If your goal is to find the job of your dreams, define the dream. If vision is to find the man of your dreams, get clear about that dream, too. You may not have all the steps necessary to get to your ridiculous goal, but you need to be able to start doing some things little by little to get you towards your goal. It may be 10 steps to the finish line, but you don’t need to know all 10 steps. Start with the first three you DO know, and I promise, the next step will come right when you need to reach your attainable, ridiculous goal.
  3. Grab some extra magazines, a poster board, some scissors, and a glue stick. You’re going to feel like a kid again, and by all accounts, that feels amazing! So, start thumbing through magazines looking for words, phrases, and pictures that speak to you, what draws you in when it hits your eye. When you know what your ridiculous goal is, and the steps that point you in the general direction to reaching that vision, you will look for those specific items in the magazines. Word of caution here: Sometimes people rush through the magazines, being TOO specific trying to find something in particular, and miss all the inspiration between the pages of a magazine. Slow down, and watch for the things that jump out at you!
  4. Grab all of your cutouts, and categorize them into areas that make the most sense. Stand back and you’ll be able to see some themes of your cutouts. Major categories like family, work, and health, for example, will jump out at you. When this happens, I suggest sectioning your poster board off into those different sections, creating themes for your goals. OR, you might also decide to create one board for one ridiculous goal. For example you might have an entire board for career. That is perfectly fine. Whatever you choose, be sure to section off your words, phrases, and pictures in a way that adequately illustrates your ridiculous goals very clearly.
  5. Glue all of those bad boys on to your poster board! Go to town filling up all of the white space with everything you know that is going to fill up your heart. Don’t hold back. And, if you didn’t quite find the EXACT picture you need that shows what your ridiculous goal is, use your computer and your printer!
  6. Find a space that you can put your vision board so that you can see it every day. This is a board that you need to be able to access, think about, look at, ruminate on, meditate on, light some incense around, have a one-on-one chat with God about, and breathe into your soul. Everything that you’ve put down is your vision. It is a vision of you, your highest self, and what you’re capable of. Believe that you’re capable, set out to achieve these ridiculous goals, putting one foot in front of the other envisioning these ridiculous goals for the life you’ve set for yourself.
Jennifer Slingerland Ryan
Jennifer Slingerland Ryan knows a thing or two about kids and families. First, she knows they are joyous, exhilarating, loving and so darn fun. Second, she knows they suck your life dry and make you weep like a baby. By day she’s a psychotherapist; by night she’s a mom and wife. She claims to love therapizing couples, educating parents, reading dystopian fiction and sleeping in her free time (read: she never sleeps). Jennifer is a mom of twins, two 15 year olds. Her youngest is...a joy. Let's just stop there. Most days you can find her in her office seeing clients, doing laundry, loading or unloading the dishwasher, or catching up on the latest episode of Real Housewives of (Insert City Here), Walking Dead or This Is Us. She is a tree-hugging country girl from West Texas who reads, writes, and teaches about human development and families as a hobby and profession. You can read more from Jennifer at her therapy blog, ichoosechange.com