Vision Board
"Plan today. Achieve tomorrow"
Hi Friend!
A vision board is a powerful tool for visualizing and manifesting your dreams. It's a visual representation of your aspirations, desires, and goals, created through a collage of images, words, and phrases. When used in conjunction with life coaching, vision boards can be a highly effective tool for clarifying and achieving personal and professional goals.
What is a Vision Board?
A Vision Board is a collective name for a wide variety of inspirational maps and collages that we create from pictures and words. It’s a visual representation of our goals and dreams – and a powerful way to make our aspirations more attainable.
You can use Vision Boards for many things:
To clarify WHO you are, WHAT you want from life or create a VISION for where you’re going.
For personal encouragement and INSPIRATION.
To TAP INTO your inner wisdom, creativity or spirituality.
To FOCUS on specific areas of your life like work, home, relationships or goals.
You can even create a vision board for how you want to FEEL!
The great thing is you get to choose!
How does a Vision Board work?
Our minds can only hold about 7 pieces of information at any one time. And yet there are millions of pieces of information around us all the time (think about everything you think and can see/hear/feel for starters). So, to ensure we don’t get overwhelmed, our mind learns to filter information and to only show us information it thinks is RELEVANT. That’s why when we get a new car or find out we’re going to be parents we suddenly notice blue Mazda or pregnant women or new dads everywhere.
It’s the very act of CREATING the vision board that tells our mind what’s important – and as a result it will draw your attention to things you might otherwise not have noticed. It’s a great way of showing our mind what we want it to focus on for us!
How to create a Vision Board that works
Start by cutting out and collecting pictures, words, quotes that inspire you or simply catch your eye. You can do this at one sitting or build a collection over time. Then paste and organize your images and words onto a big piece of paper or poster, giving it a title and date.
What You’ll need: A piece of bristol board or cardboard (you pick the size!), scissors, colored pens, glue, any pictures you already have and a supply of inspirational magazines to cut out pictures from (eg. Oprah, home magazines, spiritual magazines, National Geographic – anything with pictures).
Top Vision Board Tips
Have FUN! You can start with a blank piece of paper and go totally freeform, or you can outline a tree/book/star shape and create a ‘Goal Tree’, ‘Dream Book’ or ‘Destiny Star’. You can also make it 3D!
To be most effective and connect your left brain (logic, analysis, words) and right brain (creativity, emotions, heart, images) your Vision Board MUST HAVE PICTURES – even if they are just line drawings and stick men/women. You can do a words-only vision board, but it may not have such a great impact.
While looking for pictures, run free and dream. INCLUDE ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING that appeals or speaks to you! Don’t analyse, stop thinking and tune into your CREATIVE right brain!
Include PERSONAL AFFIRMATIONS or inspiring quotes to nurture and cherish your inner self.
Use COLOR! Whether it’s colored pens, post-it notes or colored shapes – make it VIBRANT and exciting.
It’s also helpful to actively look for the UNFAMILIAR and UNEXPECTED things you are drawn to – look outside your ‘normal’ box for maximum impact.
This is not about creating an artistic masterpiece but creating something that visually inspires and excites you!
No Idea Where to Start?
LUCKY YOU! Simply start flicking through magazines, newspapers, the internet and simply cut out anything that inspires or grabs your attention until you have a pile of pictures to work with. Then you get to see what unfolds!
You could also try answering these questions; 1) “What do I REALLY want from life?”, 2) “What is the life I REALLY want to live?” or 3) “WHO do I really want to be?”
Put your Vision Board somewhere you will SEE IT REGULARLY – to remind, inspire and focus you. Sit down every once in a while and REALLY LOOK AT IT. Review it and allow yourself to feel and get excited by it. This is a great step to add to your morning routine as it allows our mind to think on it and absorb it throughout the day! Make it even more fun and get a few good friends together and spend a fun and inspiring evening creating your own Vision Boards.
Vision Board Ideas Without Pictures
Vision board ideas aren’t limited to pictures to represent your dreams and goals. Actually, there are so many untapped resources out there that can feed the creativity behind your vision board.
A Creative Title
If you had to summarize your entire vision board into one word or phrase, what would it be? This may change over time, and that’s perfectly acceptable. We are all forever evolving, and our goals transition. Use specific verbiage when you create your title.
Words of GRADITUDE
GRADITUDE is the healthiest of all human emotions, as I love to say. And such a powerful manifesting technique.
So it should be clear why words of GRADITUDE can also create a fantastic effect on your new vision board. You can simply cut out the words and stick them on or write them directly on the dream board itself. Also, a great idea is to leave a part of your vision board blank and put a pen next to it. Then every time you walk by, you can write something on it for which you are grateful for at this exact moment.
Names of People That Inspire You
Think of the lovely supportive people in your life or those that are on a public platform that inspires you to go for your goals. Include their names throughout your vision board as a reminder that you have a CONNECTION to people that care and are cheering you on.
Add a Mirror and Become a Part of Your Vision Board
Putting a picture of yourself on a vision board is a great technique to be in the middle of it, to become a part of your new dream life. A mirror can skyrocket this powerful technique. Every time you walk past your vision board, you can look at yourself in your vision board and tell yourself how great your new life is.
Sentimental Objects
Choose Objects that have Sentimental Value to you
If you’re looking for major motivation, then take a minute to think of 3 objects that hold sentimental value and directly relate to your goals. These can be just about anything. If you’re hoping to get in more date nights with your significant other, then post an old cinema ticket to your vision board.
Notes of Encouragement
Do you remember the last note of encouragement that you got from someone? That feeling of unexpected GRADITUDE and inspiration is hard to manufacture. If a particular note comes to mind, then dig it out of a drawer and put it on your vision board. Those words were meant for you, and they’re yours to reflect on regularly.
Lists
From a bucket list to all the things you want to buy for your new dream house, lists can be a great addition to your vision board. Going through these lists every day will certainly give you the right inspiration to take action.
And that is what your vision board is all about. The pictures (or, in some cases, much more than just pictures) send the right signals to your subconscious mind. Then it’s up to you to make your dreams come true…
What are your thoughts on vision boards? Have you ever made one? Did this inspire you to want get working?
XO Jenna
