Creating a Vision Board for Teens in 15 Minutes or Less

I did not know that my son was such a deep thinker. Honestly, I just didn’t give him enough credit for having thoughts beyond — what’s for dinner? What time does the game start? And, can I invite some friends over?

Then, I decided to motivate him by creating a vision board. Now my son isn’t into crafts at all, and your child doesn’t have to be either to benefit from a vision board.

Step 1. Q & A.

First, you’ll want to have your child answer the following questions. Tell him he’ll have 60 seconds to answer each one.

• If you could spend the day doing anything you want, what would you do?
• Describe your ideal life as an adult and why you’d want it to be that way.
• What would you do with your life if you knew you would succeed?

Step 2. Review Answers.

After your child answers the questions, go through each one. Try not to say if an answer is good or bad or if you agree with the answer; if you comment too much, they’ll tune you out. What you’ll want to say after they’ve shared their answers with you is something like this:

So, thanks for answering those questions. You know, the choices you’re making now in your life are the stepping stones that will get you to those goals. Let’s look at your first answer. Your ideal day is one spent hanging out with your friends and skiing. Well, when you take care of your schoolwork and your chores around the house, you get closer to having the kind of days you most enjoy.

(You might want to brush up on how to avoid one-word answers before you start asking your teen questions.)

When you go over the second and third questions you’re helping your children visualize a future that he really wants. Use this question and answer time to talk about what he can do now to make that future a reality. Help him see that meeting his responsibilities now will pay off in the long run.

Step 3. Make The Vision Board.

I kept things very simple for my son. I typed out his three answers and had him cut them out. I slapped them on the right end of a horizontal piece of paper. On the left side of the paper, I drew stepping stones that led to the answers on the right. I explained to my son that each choice he made either kept him moving from stone to stone toward his vision for the future, or it sent him off course.

So that’s a pretty simple way of creating a vision board for your teenager.

How do you help your teens get motivated to fulfill their vision for the future?