Creating a Shared Vision: How to Build a Dream Life Together
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Most couples talk about the future at some point — where to live, how to save, when to travel. But often those conversations feel overwhelming, or worse, get lost in the noise of day-to-day life. A shared vision is different. It’s a priority.
It's a dream that you constantly refer back to and lights you both up. The small details may change but the overall goal stays the same. Think of it as a gentle compass, pointing you both in the same direction while leaving room for adventure, spontaneity, and change.
If you’ve ever felt like you and your partner want the same “more” but can’t quite define it, creating a shared vision may be exactly what brings clarity, connection, and excitement back into your conversations.
It certainly did for us - 6 years later we've converted a camper van, travelled for 2 years around Europe, Morocco and Turkiye and now, we're floating on the UK waterways in our narrowboat...maybe this should come with a warning!!
This is the perfect date night activity so put on some gentle music, grab some paper and pens because tonight, is when your lives start to change.
What is a shared vision?
A shared vision is simply a picture of the kind of life you want to create together. It’s not about having every detail figured out, but about knowing:
How you want your days to feel
The values that matter most to you both
The adventures, challenges, or experiences you want to share
The pace of life that feels right for you
Think of it as painting a backdrop for your story — a canvas where the details can change, but the mood and meaning remain the same.
Why is a shared vision important?
There are so many benefits to having a shared vision but the main one is that without it acting as a guiding light, it's so easy to live parallel lives which eventually leads to stagnation.
You might love each other deeply but feel like you’re moving in different directions. You may have notice small frustrations starting to build, boredom of repetition, possibly even some destructive habits starting to form. When you have nothing to challenge you, both individually and as a couple, you will feel completely out of alignment.
A shared vision pulls you back to the same page, like an anchor. It doesn’t mean agreeing on everything. It means understanding what you’re both working towards, and creating a life that makes space for both of your dreams. It’s about finding a rhythm where you both feel supported, grounded, and excited for what’s to come.
We can tell you from experience, a shared vision makes the hard days feel easier, the small wins feel sweeter, and the future feels like an exciting blank page.
Here are some other ways a shared vision can help your relationship:
Connection: When you regularly talk about your dreams, you grow closer and deepen understanding.
Direction: Even tiny decisions (where to spend a weekend, what to save for) feel easier when you know your bigger picture.
Motivation: On hard days, remembering what you’re working toward together helps you keep going.
Playfulness: Dreaming isn’t all serious — it’s a chance to be curious, creative, and laugh about “what if” ideas.
Maybe you've already started this without realising it by saving photos, articles, or Pinterest boards to share with each other, sending dream life reels to each other as a hint or making little choices that point toward the same horizon.
Is this starting to sound like a good plan? Great...let's dive in!
(P.S. If you'd like us to guide you through this, we created a vision board template just for you when you join our Notes from the Narrowboat diaries)
Creating the shared vision
Building a shared vision doesn’t need to be a big event. It can start with something as simple as a question over tea - that's how our best ideas began!
Here are some questions to start asking yourself:
What would a dream day look like for us?
How do we want our home to feel?
If we could spend a year anywhere, where would we go?
What do we want to feel more of?
What does our life look like in 10 years time?
Do we have any big personal goals?
The point isn’t to agree on every detail, but to uncover the themes that overlap — freedom, adventure, calm, creativity, connection.
6 Practical steps to creating a shared vision
Firstly, grab our shared vision worksheets HERE to help you plan this date night.
Here are some simple ways to start building a vision that feels good for both of you:
Create space for the conversation — Sit down with a cup of tea and leave your phones in another room.
Start with feelings, not logistics — Ask each other, “How do you want life to feel?” before jumping to money or timelines.
Find your common threads — Even if one of you dreams of van life and the other craves stability, you might both want more freedom, connection, or creativity.
Paint your perfect day — Describe in detail what a dream day would look like together. Morning to evening. This reveals what you value most.
Write it down — Keep a shared journal or notes app where you record your vision. It helps keep it real instead of just floating in your minds.
Take one tiny action — Whether it’s saving £10 a week, researching locations, or clearing a weekend for adventure, small steps turn vision into reality.
Common struggles couples face when creating a shared vision
Even the most connected couples can feel the tension when it comes to aligning visions. Some of the most common struggles are:
One partner feels more adventurous, the other craves security.
Dreams feel too big or unrealistic, so they get pushed aside.
Daily routines take over, and there’s no space for big-picture conversations.
Fear of conflict keeps you from being honest about what you really want.
You don’t know where to start, so the dream stays a vague “someday.”
If any of these sound familiar, you’re not alone. The important thing isn’t having it all figured out — it’s being willing to begin the conversation.
Keeping the shared vision alive
A vision isn’t something you write once and put in a drawer. It’s something you return to, gently, often; adjusting as you grow and life shifts. Some couples have a weekly check-in. Others keep a shared journal or vision board.
For us, it’s always been about connection and cozy conversations — a good slice of cake, earl grey tea, and the space to say out loud: are we still moving towards what matters most to us?
And above all else, don't forget to celebrate the little wins and watch it evolve. It's not the big moves, it's the small daily steps that will get you there.
We started out wanting to convert a camper van. Then we took a 1 year sabbatical to travel Europe. We quickly extended this to 2 years. Then we came home to buy a narrowboat. Our next dream, is to navigate the UK canals for a year.
The dream changes and evolves as we move through life.
You don’t have to know the “how” or the exact timeline. You just have to know the feeling you’re chasing, and trust that tiny brave steps will get you there.
🧡 Want to explore this more?
Every week we share gentle, behind-the-scenes stories from our narrowboat in Notes from the Narrowboat. They’re little reminders that it’s okay to dream differently — and to create a life at your own pace.
P.S. You'll get your very own vision board sheets to help you plan your next date night.
Hi, we're
The Taylor Browns!
We're Sarah and Phil aka. The Taylor Browns. We've been tiny living for 3 years now between a 2-year roadtrip in our self-converted camper van Annie and our new addition to the fleet - narrowboat 'what's the hurry'.
Our mission is to inspire you through our travel content and alternative living to take the leap into the simple life and nurture your relationship as you go.
ABOUT
We're Sarah and Phil aka. The Taylor Browns. We're currently travelling around Europe and Morocco in our self converted campervan Annie.
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