PLANS, GOALS, VISIONS... WHAT'S WHAT IN THE SHAPING OF YOUR FUTURE?
- Ashanta Artistry
- Mar 31
- 4 min read
As we close out the first quarter of 2025 it's a good time to check in to see where you're sitting with your goals for the year. As I pulled out my Artist's Planner (free page downloads below) and started comparing my beginning of the year PLAN SMART with my Q1 checkin I was faced with something a friend of mine had mentioned to me late last year.
During a fireside chat with some friends late December over a bottle of wine the converstaion organically came to that inevitiable end of year quesiton. "So what is everyone's goals for the new year?" Some shyed away from the question too embarrassed to share their wildest dreams, others had their vision boards posted to their refrigerator for weeks already and were eager to share and one emphatically proclaimed that they don't make goals. I was shocked at the latter one's reveal for this friend had a successful business and prided himself for such. And I haven't spoken to single successful business person who didnt have goals. So of course I asked him to elaborate. He went on to tell me how prefers to have "visions" (which we agreed later was the "ultimate goal", we were just splitting hairs on the verbiage) because plans change and it's easy to get discouraged about your plans when things don't work out which could lead to easy abandonment of the vision. Conversely when someone is more vision or goal oriented then there's more flexibilty when detours happen on the road to the ultimate goal. This made perfect sense to me. Consider this, You may be starting in Los Angeles, California with the vision of standing on the Cliffs of Acadia National Park in Maine and it would be really helpful if while navigating you had in mind sights you'd like to see along the way and best routes when inevitable detours arise. While getting off the quickest route might be a much needed break for refuel and reset, if when reevaluating your route you notice you've been headed in the opposite direction for an unneccessary period of time, it would be smart to recalculate your route and take the necesarry steps to get back on track toward your ultimate destination. This is why my Artist's Planner (click here to see more about it) has so many pages for big picture goals and vision boards as well as routes to those destinations. It is a way to check in with ones self, check the navigation routes so-to-speak, to make sure you are on the same path toward your ultimate destination. While some pitstops may prove to be longer than anticipated and detours more of an off-roading course than the breeze of the highway, so long as you're making progress toward that ulitmate vision, you're headed in the right directions. So let's break down this concept of Visions, Goals and Plans a little further to help make those end/beginning of year fireside chats a little less daunting or ick inducing.
VISION
Your vision is your ulitmate WHY. It's the endgame that includes how reaching your goals will make you feel. It's your biggest dreams and highest thoughts for yourself. In our roadtrip example the vision is getting to Acadia National Park and standing on the cliffs. In this vision you can hear the ocean waves crashing, feel the wind blowing and smell the salty air. You can feel the happiness and contentment having reached this destination. This is the endpoint.
Goals:
Goals are the means to the endpoint. Goals get you to your vision. They are meant to be temporary and measurable because they are stopping points on your way to the ultimate WHY. On the way to Acadia National Park, for example, the roadtrip is the goal. The seeing of some monument sights, eating the best reviewed foods in cute little towns and that perfectly curated playlists along the way. Goals are inbetween stories that you will recount, learn from and have lasting memories about ON THE WAY to the final destination.
PLANS:
In order for plans to work they should be S. M. A. R. T: Specific, Measurable, Acheivable, Relevant, Time bound. Depending on the personality type plans can be inflexible but when done correctly with the overall vision and goals in mind they can used as tools (not a concrete brick) to ensure one does not deviate too far off course for too long. For example, when planning the route to Acadia National Park a well thought out plan will break down the quickest routes, the fuel milage between ideal stops, the cost related to each stop and ETA for checkin.
As someone who has taken many roadtrips I can attest that the best roadtrips are ones that are planned well but are open and flexible to detour. The roadtrip that includes adventures with unplanned detours but manages to get to the destination on time. So, whether you're like me and just started your 2025 at the turn of Spring or your new year began at the drop of the ball on January 1st, having a plan for your future starts with a vision. That long term view of how you see your future best self basking in the hardwork it took to get where you ultimately want to be. And just like there are many routes to take from point A to point B with detours along the way, plans help you map out your course in a tangible way and goals help you identify your senic views along the way. The pitstops may alter contingent on restroom breaks, intriguing billboards, sudden needs for rests and leg stretches ect. All is well, so long as when you get back in the car the route view in the navigation is pointed in the right directions, which at the end of the day, only you truly know in which direction your soul should be pointed.
Download these FREE PAGES from The Artist's Planner here.
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