Why Vision Boards Fail
You have your intentions posted by your desk.
Better yet, by your dining room table.
It’s been a week. Maybe eight days.
Do you still even see those dreams?
That’s the first problem with vision boards – lack of attention.
They become background noise.
Even if you do notice it’s still hanging there, how often do you make the time to ponder what any of it means to you?
That’s problem number two – lack of involvement.
The more attention and involvement you give to your visions, the quicker and deeper the results.
Sigh.
Most of us are human.
Life gets busy.
Boredom creeps in.
Here’s what started working for me.
I took my Dream House from my vision board and had it turned into a coloring page. Nothing fancy. Just outlines. Something to print out and mess with over coffee.
Adding color, even sloppily, kept me engaged. The more ridiculous I got with outrageous colors, drawn-in dogs, weird tile patterns, the more attention I gave it.
I wasn’t just visualizing anymore. I was participating.
It shifted something.
Coloring is tactile. It holds attention without demanding it. You start imagining missing details. You add things. Change things.
Play.
Turns out, this kind of low-effort creative involvement sends a signal to the rest of your brain: This matters. Get to work.
That quiet kind of focus did more for my goals than any glue-stick poster ever did.
I kept going.
The drawings were AI-generated. Early ones were terrible. One had stairs that led nowhere.
Didn’t matter.
They made my dream active again.
That was the point.
I started pulling in more home styles, Cape Cods, Craftsman bungalows, Art Deco fronts with stained glass, even a Federal-style brick beast that probably had servants and secrets.
I colored beach retreats in Baja made of shipping containers. A duplex from my past that I should have bought when I had the chance. Even the weird ones with melting porches and floating chimneys.
And of course, a thatched roof jungle shack with a solar panel (a VW bug parked in front).
The act of coloring kept me involved.
It turns out that’s how your brain knows something matters.
Neuroscience backs it up. Coloring calms the fear center and lights up the parts tied to planning and focus. You stay present, but productive.
Even better than coloring?
Doodling
Another Neuroscience reveal.
This requires more involvement than coloring. Your brain has to create, not just fill in.
So now, I add things. Bikes. Dogs. Pizza ovens. Scribbled floor plans. It’s no longer just visualizing.
It’s building!
Ready to try it?