For the longest time, I didn’t get what vision boards were all about. People swore by them but I just didn’t understand the purpose of them: are vision boards for inspiration, motivation, accountability, focus?
Then one day, I spoke with a life coach and the penny dropped. Every day since then, I have been and advocate of vision boards and I now use them extensively for both work and home life.
If you have ever wondered what vision boards are, what you can use them for, how they work, you are in the right place!
Today, I want to share with all of you what I learned about vision boards, how they can help you change your life and how you can easily create one you can use right now.
Intrigued? let’s get started!
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What is a vision board?
A vision board is a tool that helps put and keep into focus a goas we set for ourselves.
In its most simple form, it is a physical board, an object, with images and words that visualize and evoke your goal and the positive feelings you will experience when you achieve it.
A vision board can be a piece of cardboard or wood, or an area of your wall where you have photos of the goal you would like to achieve and some words of encouragement.
For instance, if you are goal is to buy a new car, your vision board may have clippings of the car you want to buy, a photo of the amazing road trips you will take once you have the money and a pretty sticker with ‘you can do it!’ on it.
However, a vision board doesn’t have an object, if you don’t have space, are not crafty or do not want the board to be visible to others, there are many ways to create one in a way that is discreet and easy.
We will look at them at the end of the page!
How do vision boards work
Vision boards work in several ways. They can help you:
Clarify a goal
Sometimes we have a very clear goal in mind (like saving enough to buy a car, in the example above), but other times, you may have an idea of something you want to achieve (ex. I want to be happy) but you may struggle to define what this goal really looks like. A board can help you with that!
So that the happiness example. You know that you want to feel happy but what does ‘happy’ look like for you? Is it having friends around? Hear from someone from the past? Have free time? Look a certain way?
The moment you start creating a board around the concept of happy and you start looking for images, this will naturally see you drawn to some images.
For some, a happiness vision board could be a beach in the Caribbeans, while for others a backyard full of kids. For others, it can be both!
The process of making the board will immediately help to start to find clarity about your goal and set you in the right direction.
Find and keep focus
One of the biggest struggles when trying to reach a goal is losing focus.
This does not mean we don’t really want to reach our goal or we are not interested enough (it can, but it is not always the case): sometimes we are simply torn in too many directions and lose sight of the way.
For this, a board is great: a visual reminder of your goal and the amazing feeling you will experience when you get there is a huge daily prompt to stay on the right path.
A board is also a powerful decision-making tool: when something comes up, we often look at the pros and cons short term but we lose sight of the long terms. That deal on Amazon looks amazing but what does spending that money do to your buying a new car goal: does is bring you closer to it or farther away?
We don’t need a board for his type of thinking but it is incredible how powerful it is to have a physical reminder of it!
Find encouragement
Frustration is always around the corner when we try and reach something, especially if it takes a while to get where we wanted. When that happens, many things can help (taking a break, talking to a friend) and a vision board is one of them.
Remember when we said what the board should have? We mentioned images, that will keep you inspired evoking positive feelings and we mentioned words, saying and encouraging memes.
A board can be our own cheerleader, reminding us that we can go this, that we will get there and that yes, sometimes things are hard and you feel like giving up but this is ok and it doesn’ mean you can’t do it, it only means it is not happening right now.
Staying productive
I also love vision boards as a productivity tool. We all have days when our motivation and therefore productivity goes down and a vision board can be a very powerful reminder of why we are doing what we are doing.
Sure, the task on hand can be tedious, but how amazing will you feel once it is done and you are closer to your goal?
Harness the law of attraction
A vision board, like the name may suggest, is also a powerful tool to harness the law of attraction and initiate positive change.
Have you ever noticed that when you focus really strongly on something, it feels like the universe responds and makes things happen?
Like you decide to lose weight and not the same day you find sports equipment half price in the shop down the road? Whether it is the universe at work of your subconscious, a vision board is usually the first step for this kind of change to happen. It will not do the work for you, but it will help you make it happen!
What to put on a vision board
I find the best things to put on a vision board are:
- Photos and images that evoke your goal, thing photos you took but also magazine clippings, postcards etc
- Photos and images that evoke the feeling of happiness and fulfillment once your goal is achieved
- Encouraging words and saying
How to make your own vision board
Reading all this you may feel like hopping with joy at the idea of getting all crafty and make a beautiful vision board or torrified by the very same tasks. Both reactions are totally normal and ok!
The important thing to remember is: there is no right or wrong way to create a vision board. The only important thing is that the board is appealing to you and does the job you need it to do.
You like pastel colors and a minimalist look/ great!
You prefer bold colors, clippings and a striking look? go for it!
Things that can help you getting started:
How to make a vision board if you are not crafty
If you are not crafty, there is no need to worry: I am not either and my solution is to create vision boards on my phone!
You can use canva or pic collage app and create vision boards exactly as you like them without nay craft skill needed.
Vision boards made this way have the advantage of being super personal and always with you but they also have a downside! Unless you make a point of looking at them (set a reminder!), they do run the risk of getting buries in your camera roll to never be looked at again and that’s a fast wat to take away pretty much all the power of having a board!
We hope you enjoyed this overview of how you can use and make a vision board!