How do I make my vision board, you may be asking? And why do I need one? I’m so glad you asked!
A vision board is a tangible representation of where you want your life to go. Begin by collecting visual information that represents your goals in all areas of your life including physical, mental, financial, professional, and spiritual goals.
There is no limit to what you can put on your vision board, and it can be physical or digital, the choice is yours. To help you start creating and designing your best vision board, you want to make one that will help you work towards your goals. To accomplish this, you’ll need decide what tools you will use.
When creating your vision board, consider where you will display it so you can see it daily. When you keep your vision board in an area that you see daily, you’ll more likely be reminded of your goals which will then help you meet your dreams.
Creating your vision board is simple but there are a few things to keep in mind to help you along your journey. Decide what changes you would like to have in each area of your life and then search for images that represent your future self. Keep reading for helpful tips, tools, and ideas that you can use for creating your personal vision board.
What Visualization Is
Visualization connects your mind’s eye to the possibilities of a better outcome. When you see these desires, it impacts your brain allowing you to shift your intentions to fulfilling those desires. By visualizing your success on a daily basis, you are more likely to consciously and purposely take action to meet those goals.
Imagine everything involved in cooking a gourmet meal. What ingredients will you use? Who will enjoy this meal? What steps will you take to ensure the meal is delicious? Imagine each step you will take from writing the grocery list, where you will shop, how you will make it, etc. Begin by knowing your goals to visualize the steps needed to reach your final desired outcome.
What Visualization Is Not
Visualization is not a self-improvement program. Instead, it is a function you learn and practice throughout your life. Learning how to visualize your life begins by acknowledging your current situations. The point of vision boards is to help you take control of every aspect of your life.
Visualization isn’t a time for self-blaming, but the opportunity to own where you are today. Only then can you turn your life toward your future. It’s also not the time to live in past regrets but to learn from those experiences.
Visualization is also not a “set it and forget it” solution. You’ll need to put action behind your desires. Creating action steps that are aligned with your vision board can realize your dreams.
How does visualization help you reach your dreams?
Visualization helps your reach your dreams in several ways. For one, it forces you to take your current life situation and environment into consideration. Once you recognize where you are physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, and spiritually; you can then change those areas. Visualization causes you to focus on your daily actions while keeping your ultimate goals in the forefront of your mind. Another way that visualization helps you see your dreams coming true and gives you the opportunity to feel and see that success. Visualization also helps you create an action plan that will help direct your steps towards accomplishing that goal.
Why does visualization help you reach your dreams?
A vision board is a valuable tool that can help you move from having thoughts of success to creating the action steps of making your dreams come true. There is no secret or magic behind visualization. It requires you to be honest about where you are in every aspect of your life and willing to make the changes to gain what you want.
Visualization is like a bridge in that you decide to take the actions to move from your current situation to where you want your life to be one, three, and even five years from now. Therefore, it is important to keep your vision board in plain sight. Basically, always being in the forefront of your mind.
How to make my vision board so that it works for me
There is no limit to what you can put on your vision board. You can include aspirations, poems, prayers, and photographs. You can give your goals a date when you hope to reach that goal but don’t give yourself an unrealistic timeline.
For example, if you want to purchase a home, you could place a picture of your dream home on the vision board with a potential date. Every time you see the picture of your dream home you’ll be reminded of what action steps you need to take to meet that goal. Your action steps would be to contact a bank or mortgage company to find out how much money you need for a down payment and what your credit score should be.
What categories should I consider when I make my vision board?
1. Travel Dreams and Goals
2. Spiritual Goals
3. Physical Health Goals
4. Relationship Goals
5. Financial Goals
6. Career or Business Goals
Take your time and give each category some real thought. The clearer you are about your dreams, the more likely reaching that goal becomes. Think of where you are today and what you would like the next year, three years, and even five years to look like. Once you define your goals in each category, you can then move forward to finding the images that clearly point you in that direction.
This is the reason that journaling goes hand in hand with creating a vision board. Journaling can be the most valuable tool you use when it comes to taking your dreams and visions from your brain and putting them into writing. Once you have your thoughts written down you can match them to images, quotes, scripture, or whatever you would like for your vision board.
Don’t allow yourself to get stuck in the mindset of perfectionism. The nice thing about vision boards is that they can be changed as needed. As you accomplish your goals, you can remove that image or put a heart of a star sticker on it. If you see your dreams have changed, then go ahead and remove them from your vision board. There is no rule on how many images or powerful words you used to create your vision board.
What should I keep in mind when I make my vision board?
- Be in a positive and healthy mindset when you sit down to design your vision board. Negative thoughts can block your thinking and cause you to overlook what you really want in your life.
- Give yourself time to design your vision board without rushing it. Block out time to dedicate to creating your vision board.
- Personalize the photos you use by simply adding your name or face to the picture. You can use one of the tools listed below to create unique digital options.
- Train your brain to think in the present tense using “I am” statements. These statements help you visualize how your life will look when you meet that goal.
- Remind yourself you are good enough to make your dreams come true. When negative thoughts creep in, take a moment to cast them down by using a positive statement.
- Seek help to make your dreams come true. You may have goals that require mentorship or specialized training to make that dream a reality.
- Use your favorite tools to create a vision board. Turn your digital vision board into a physical board by printing it at home or through an online printing service.
- Stay away from vague images. The clearer and more concise the image, the better chance you will have a better outcome.
- Your brain does not know the difference between real and imaginary. This information can be helpful to you when building your vision board and locating the imagines you desire.
- Be sure to start with the proper mindset. Believing that you can reach your goals is the first step toward creating the best vision board for you.
If you feel stuck on what you should include when you make your vision board, consider journaling. Once you see those thoughts, you can begin to connect the dots to where you would like your life to go from there. Working through your thoughts is a powerful beginning to designing a vision board that will work for you.
Once you have your thoughts written down, you can begin to collect art, graphics, poems, and other physical or digital images to place on your vision board. For your vision board to work you need to keep it displayed in a room that you spend most of your time in so, you can see it daily.
Vision boards only work when you can focus or bring your goals to mind. Keeping your goals written down and in plain sight is what makes you reach your goals. Another thing you could do is take a picture of your vision board and put it on your phone screen, this way you can see it throughout your day.
What types should I consider when I make my vision board?
Healthy Habits
Annual Goals
Intentional Living
Life Goals
Home Life
Vacation Goals
Inner Peace
Mindful Goals
Envisioning your best life holds power.
What should I think about before I make my vision board?
Have you ever caught yourself thinking about a particular part of your life and how you envision it? That would be an example of journaling your thoughts. Once you journal your thoughts you can then turn those into a vision board. When you are putting your vision board together, consider having the following questions in front of you for reference.
• What do you want your vision board to represent?
• What areas of your life would you like to change?
• What feeling do you want to get from looking at your vision board?
• What is a good life for you?
• What are you currently doing that is not part of your overall dream?
• What makes life worth giving it your all?
• When you are in your last stage of life, what needs to happen for you to feel accomplished?
• What do you have on your bucket list that keeps being forgotten or overlooked?
• Does your vision board show you what type of person you want to be?
• Did you include your career and relationship goals?
When journaling to create your vision board be honest with yourself and don’t hold back. Keep in mind that your vision board is personal to your goals, life views, and personal dream for your life. Once you have your vision board completed, be mindful of how you will work towards making those dreams come true.
Your vision board does not replace the action steps required to make those dreams a reality. Knowing what you want in life is what the vision board does for you. However, you will need to focus your efforts on succeeding to make those vision board dreams come true. For example, visualizing the effort or actions needed to make those dreams come true is more powerful than just visualizing the end results.
Instead of visualizing that end goal, try focusing on each step moving forward towards that goal. You may even find it helpful by including images or quotes that help you identify short-term goals that are specifically related to the long-term goal you have.
One common strategy for making your vision board goals a reality is to view your goal with a positive mindset along with putting action into place. If you have a big goal that seems to be out of your reach then be sure to find a mentor or professional that can help you work out the steps.
What obstacles might I encounter when I make my vision board?
Do I need to be crafty? – If you have searched online to see what others do for their vision boards, you may have seen some creative and elaborate vision boards. The nice thing about a vision board is that you do not need any special crafty skills.
Do I need a big budget? -If you decide to go with a digital board, you’ll find plenty of free apps. Vision boards can be zero-cost if you already have scissors, glue, paper, and old magazines. Consider visiting your library to see if they have any books or magazines they no longer want.
How often can I change my mind? You can change your vision board elements as often as your dreams. Since your life changes daily, it’s reasonable to think that your vision board elements will also change.
Goals vs. Dreams – Don’t confuse goals with dreams. Though you need both goals and dreams, you need to understand the difference between the two. Goals require action while dreams are thoughts about what you hope will happen one day.
Living Life with Purpose
Keep in mind that many people live life in a default manner, if you feel that you have been doing this then now is a great time to work towards the changes you desire. Therefore, having a vision board that you create and keep visible is important to see those changes become your reality. Remember, your mind needs to see things, and creating a vision board helps your mind connect your thoughts to reality.
When you make your vision board, you are clearly stating what you hope your life will look like. Visualizing your life increases your motivation and increases your confidence while getting your mind focused on success. Your dream board should give you feelings of excitement and inspiration.
When you look at your vision board, these feelings should continue with you all year or until you meet that goal.
• Words – When used properly, words have a deep impact and can help you feel good. They also things to mind that you want to experience or wish to have. You can hand write, draw, print or even cut out these powerful words.
• Quotes – Are often timeless and are still useful for today’s life situations. Choose quotes from your favorite authors, role model or even lyrics from your favorite song.
• Poems – Can speak to you in a way that other words cannot. Consider what poem you would like to include on your vision board.
• Self-Affirmations – These are not quotes. These are actions you have taken and are the statements that affirm what you have done for yourself. They can help you minimize stress while having a positive mental improvement effect for you.
• Spiritual – Do you have a favorite bible verse or hymn? Consider adding this to your vision board help you create a space of calm and thankfulness.
Always focus on the positive outcome that reaching your goals will bring. For example, stating you want to lose weight may cause you to focus on food instead you want to focus on how you will feel once you reach that healthy weight. Be careful what you are focusing on since you will naturally push your energy into that thing, so focus on the outcome instead of the reason you want to change. Your mindset is important and having a vision board is just a tool that is used to help you navigate through the changes you want for your life.