Cut it Out with the Vision Boards

Let’s get something straight from the start: vision boards aren’t the problem. They’re a tool. They’re meant to inspire, to give you a north star, a snapshot of what “success” looks like in your head. The problem is what most people actually do with them.

They print out glossy pictures, glue them on poster board, hang them up in the office or bedroom, and then stare at them like the images are going to come to life. As if a Lamborghini is going to magically appear in the driveway, or that dream job will just knock on the door because you pinned the company logo next to a quote about hustle.

You know what happens instead? Nothing. Except maybe a false sense of progress because you “feel” like you’re working toward something when really all you did was arts and crafts.

That’s why I’m telling you to cut it out with the vision boards. Unless you’re ready to take the next step (actually breaking your goals into projects, tasks, timelines, and execution), they’re nothing more than wall decorations.

Goals without actions are just wishes.

Here’s the cold truth: having a goal is cheap. Anyone can say they want to lose 20 pounds, start a business, write a book, or finally stop living paycheck to paycheck. Hell, I could walk into a coffee shop right now and collect a dozen ambitious goals from strangers in five minutes.

But ask those same people what the first three steps are toward making it happen, and watch their faces go blank. That’s the problem. We confuse wanting with doing. We confuse clarity of vision with clarity of action.

A vision board tells you what you want. Projectizing that goal tells you how you’re going to get it. And the people who consistently win in life aren’t the ones with the prettiest boards; they’re the ones who treat their goals like missions and execute relentlessly.

When I say “projectize,” I’m not trying to overcomplicate things. I’m saying you need to treat your goals like real projects, the same way organizations treat million-dollar initiatives. That means you don’t stop at the idea. You build a plan, you assign tasks, you create accountability, and you track progress.

Think about it this way:

Vision board says: I want to run a marathon.

Projectizing says: I’ll register for the race in April, start a 16-week training program on Monday, run four days a week with one long run, and build mileage by 10% each week until I can hit 20 miles in training.

See the difference? One is a picture of someone crossing a finish line. The other is a roadmap that will actually get you across one.

Now, some of you might say, “But Scott, vision boards keep me motivated. They remind me of why I’m doing the work.” And that’s fair (if you’re actually doing the work).

The danger comes when the board becomes a substitute for action. Psychologists have shown that when we visualize a goal too much without tying it to behavior, our brains trick us into thinking we’ve already made progress. You literally burn the satisfaction early, and the urgency to act fades away.

So instead of being a motivator, your board becomes a crutch. You get to “feel” like you’re aligned with success while your daily habits stay exactly the same. That’s why I’m telling you to cut it out (or at least, to radically reframe how you use them).

So how do you make sure your goals don’t die on the corkboard? You translate them into missions. And missions require three things: clarity, structure, and execution.

Clarity of Objective: A vision board gives you a fuzzy idea of what you want. You need to turn that into a clear objective. Not “financial freedom” but “pay off $25,000 of debt in 18 months.” Not “be healthier” but “lose 15 pounds by December 1st through consistent diet and exercise.”

Structure of a Plan: Once you’ve nailed the objective, you build the scaffolding around it. Break it into phases, milestones, and tasks. Assign timelines. Create checkpoints/milestones to measure progress.

Execution with Accountability: None of this matters if you don’t act. Build accountability into your system: whether that’s a coach, a partner, a peer group, or just brutal self-discipline. And track your progress ruthlessly.

This is what separates dreamers from doers. This is the difference between staring at a mansion picture and actually saving for a down payment.

In Special Forces, we didn’t pin pictures of objectives to the wall and hope they’d magically work out. We built plans. Detailed, step-by-step, contingency-laden plans.

We’d start with the mission. Then we’d work backward: how many people, what gear, what transportation, what timeline, what contingencies. We’d rehearse, we’d war-game, we’d rehearse again, and again, and then we’d execute.

That’s how missions succeed. And it’s how personal goals succeed too. It’s not sexy, it’s not Instagram-worthy, but it’s effective.

Another reason I hammer on vision boards is because they create the illusion of progress. You spend two hours making one, hang it proudly, and you feel like you’ve done something. But what have you actually accomplished? Nothing.

Contrast that with spending those same two hours mapping out the first three steps you’ll take tomorrow. That’s real progress. That’s momentum.

Here’s the test: if I looked at your vision board right now, could you hand me a written plan that tells me what you’ll do this week to move closer to it? If the answer is no, then it’s not a tool; it’s a distraction.

Here’s a simple framework I use with clients to move from vision to execution.

Define the Outcome: One sentence, crystal clear. “I will run the Chicago Marathon in October.”

Identify Milestones: Training long runs, registering, and travel planning.

List Action Steps: Buy shoes, set training schedule, book race entry.

Schedule It: Put the steps on your calendar, not just your to-do list.

Track Progress: Measure what matters: miles run, debt paid, chapters written.

Review and Adjust: Every week, check progress and adjust the plan.

Do this, and suddenly your vision isn’t just a pretty picture, it’s a living project.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. I’m not anti-vision. I’m anti-complacency. A vision board can be useful as a starting point. It’s where you capture the big picture of what you want your life to look like.

But it cannot be the ending point. You don’t stop at the board. You translate it into goals, and those goals into projects, and those projects into tasks. That’s where transformation happens.

So if it’s so obvious, why don’t more people do it? Simple: it’s hard.

It’s fun to dream. It’s fun to clip out magazine photos and imagine the life you want. It’s not fun to sit down, open a calendar, and schedule the grind it’ll take to get there. It’s not fun to look at your bank statement and face the brutal math of debt payoff. It’s not fun to wake up at 5 AM and run in the rain.

Dreaming is cheap. Doing is expensive. And that’s why most people stay stuck.

Let me ask you this: how long have some of your vision board items been sitting there? One year? Three? Five? If it’s been that long and nothing’s moved, that’s not a vision, it’s a graveyard.

And every day you leave it untouched, you’re paying the cost of inaction. Lost time. Lost opportunities. Lost momentum.

At some point, you’ve got to be honest with yourself. Either projectize the goal and get moving, or admit it’s not really that important to you and cut it loose. But don’t let it just sit there gathering dust while you lie to yourself about being “aligned with your vision.”

Here’s the takeaway: success doesn’t come from dreaming bigger, visualizing harder, or making a prettier board. It comes from execution. Period.

Your life is not a collage. It’s a series of actions, decisions, and habits stacked on top of each other over years. If those actions don’t line up with the pictures you’ve pasted up, then your vision is just fantasy.

Execution is the bridge between the picture and reality. And that bridge is built one brick at a time; one task, one step, one uncomfortable push after another.

So here’s my challenge to you: take one thing off your vision board today. Just one. And projectize it. Write down the outcome, break it into milestones, build the first three steps, and schedule them in the next week.

Then do them.

Because the truth is, you don’t need another board. You don’t need more motivation. You need a plan. And you need to act on it.

So cut it out with the vision boards, and start building the life you keep staring at.