Visioning is an important step when setting goals, even when the goal is a great family vacation. Just as you need a good map to get you to your family vacation destination, you need a clear picture of where you want to go before you start to figure out how to get there.

Having a clear vision of the places you want to see is important if you want to make sure you eventually get to visit every destination on your vacation wish list.

“If the dream and vision are in place, then you are coming from a place of possibility as you work towards your goals,” says Carmen Lund, a creativity coach based in New Haven, Connecticut, and founder of LEAP! with Carmen Lund, which helps women design the next chapter of their lives. “Without a vision and a plan, you’ll never reach your destination.”

Vision Boards

Lund leads workshops in creating vision boards, which she feels are powerful tools for making dreams become realities.

“Designing a vision board is fun and enlightening. It helps you to clarify and bring focus to what exactly you want in your future,” says Lund. “For those who consider travel a priority, a vision board can help you to create a personal picture of future adventures and ensure that you eventually take the trip.” 

These days especially, family vacations are being put on hold, creating tremendous pressure and leaving people depressed, stressed out, and feeling out of control. “In fact,” adds Lund, “during times of economic challenges, putting together a vision board can be an empowering exercise and help keep dreams alive when you need them the most.”

Creating a Vision Board

Creating a vacation vision board is easy. You can put together a personal board that reflects your individual travel preferences, a shared board that visually communicates destinations for two, or a family board that depicts places the oldest to youngest yearn to explore.

Lund shares simple steps to create a vacation vision board:

• Gather magazines and brochures that you don’t mind cutting up. 

• Purchase a large, sturdy black art board (available at most art supply stores), glue sticks, and scissors. 

• Cut out words and pictures of places you want to travel to and things you want to experience. The destinations can be local, within the United States, or anywhere in the world.

• Glue the cut-out images and phrases to the board in a collage format. 

• Display the board where it is clearly visible.

• You might even want to purchase small sticker “dots” to place on each picture once a destination is visited.