How to Make a Vision Board
What’s something you’ve been wanting recently? Picture it in your mind for me.
Feel the emotions of what it would be like to achieve or gain that thing.
Now what if I told you that you could achieve that goal by putting your dreams to paper?
Welcome to the wonderful world of vision boarding.
What is a vision board?
Vision boards are visual representations of your goals for a length of time (typically on a yearly basis) or a singular topic, like career, home or a travel. They can be created digitally on a collage-building site or physically with magazine cutouts, printed photos and paper. No matter which method you choose, vision boards are typically created by making a photo collage of images that represent goals you’re hoping to achieve.
How do vision boards work?
Vision boards work for one of four reasons:
1. They help you prioritize
Vision boards help you plan out and envision the goals you want to achieve. When you’re reminded constantly of your highest priorities, you’re more likely to put action behind those goals. You’re less likely to get distracted by things that are less important to you.
2. They nudge your conscious and subconscious brain
Setting intentions trigger your brain to find opportunities and ways to help you attain what you’re wishing for. Also, believing in yourself and removing limiting beliefs keep you from holding yourself back. Believing that your vision board will work and that you’re deserving of your dreams is the first step to achieving them.
3. They motivate and inspire you
Getting a glimpse of your vision board should inspire you to take action and look forward to the future, while being grateful for the present. Your heart should skip a beat when you’re reflecting on your vision board!
4. Manifestation magic(?)
While this may be more of a woo-woo reason, I still like to believe there’s some manifestation magic behind vision boarding. Whether it’s actual magic that makes your dreams come true or the “magic” is the feeling you get when achieving your goals, I think we can all agree vision boards rely on putting a little trust and faith into yourself and whatever you believe in to achieve your dream life.
Goals for your vision board
Not sure where to begin? Here are a few topic ideas to get the ball rolling on what you should include on your vision board. (Make sure you check out my latest podcast episode to find out the dos and don’ts of vision boarding and hear my vision board success stories! Listen here on Spotify and Apple podcasts.)
Career
Finances
Love life
Home
Social life
Travel
How to Make a Vision Board
1. Brainstorm and set your intentions
While it’s tempting to jump right into creating your board, you can’t skip this step! Think of 5-10 goals you’d like to accomplish. Edit and refine your goals until they feel authentic to you and what you want to achieve.
2. Research imagery
Here’s the fun part: Scour Pinterest, Google or your favorite magazine for photos that make you feel something and relate directly to your goals. These images set the mood for your goals and your board, so choose them wisely. You should feel motivated and excited with each image you choose.
3. Piece it all together
Arrange your photos neatly on your board. For this step, I like to balance the board by color or theme to make it visually appealing, but that’s just a personal preference.
4. Add affirmations and words
Add the finishing touch by writing out words of affirmation on your board near the corresponding goal. For example, if your goal was to prioritize a passion project, your words of affirmation could be something like “I am creative” or “Creative ideas easily flow to me.” You can also write words, your name, angel numbers, significant dates or whatever feels relevant to you and your board.
What to do with your vision board
Stop! Your work here isn’t done…yet. After you’re down carefully piecing together your dream vision board, you’ll want to do these 3 things to help your vision board come to life:
1. Place your vision board somewhere it’s visible
This step keeps your goals top of mind and reminds your subconscious (and conscious) brain to continue moving towards your goals daily. Make it easy on yourself and place your board somewhere you walk by often throughout the day. For a physical board, place it on your desk or nightstand. If it’s a virtual board, set it as your laptop or phone screensaver.
2. Continue updating and reflecting on your vision board
So much can change in a year (including yourself!), so don’t be afraid to continually update and reflect on whether your vision board is serving you. And if you achieved a goal, celebrate your win!
3. Take action!
This is the most important step of vision boarding. Make sure you’re continually taking action, even if it’s baby steps, in the direction of your goal. If your goal is a bit loftier, break it down into bite-size steps you can take on a daily basis.
