You can’t just throw pictures on your vision board, you can actually use the vision board to help you articulate, focus, and deliver your vision. Doing it right can help set you back by refocusing your mind daily on what you would like to have and then making you put things in motion to achieve your vision. So how to make a vision board work?
Step 1: Clarify Your Goals
Just before you begin collecting things, ask yourself what you really want. You want your objectives to be specific, attainable, and important to you. Ask yourself:
- What are my priorities for the future? (e.g., career, health, relationships)
- What are my short and long-term ambitions?
- What will it feel like to fulfil these objectives?
- Write down your answers. This will inform your vision board and it will impact the message.
Step 2: Choose Your Medium
Depending on your style, you can print or make a vision board:
- Physical Vision Board: Use a cork board, poster board, or canvas. You’ll need magazines, cutting boards, glue, and crayons.
- Digital Vision Board: Use Canva, Pinterest, or even a Word document to organize your vision digitally.
The two options are different, but a physical board is sometimes more tactile and interactive, while a digital board can be portable and more flexible.
Step 3: Gather Inspirational Materials
Now that you understand your intentions, start hoarding material that represents them. These could include:
- Photos: Use photos that reflect your intentions. For instance, a picture of a tropical island may represent your ultimate getaway.
- Quotes: Use quotes that make you feel motivated.
- Signs: Use symbols that are symbolic for yourself, such as a sun to express happiness or a heart to express love.
- Photos: Add photos of yourself or your loved ones to make the board more personal.
- Copy and paste: Magazine headlines or words that fit your vision.
- Don’t rush this step. Your material should bring you positive feelings and excitement.
Step 4: Design Your Board Carefully
It’s about the way you organize your vision board. You need it to be visually appealing and easy to comprehend at a glance. Here are some tips:
- Organize Priorities: Separate your board by life domains (work, health, and relationships).
- Top Point: Insert a large image or phrase in the top point that symbolises your primary focus.
- Align photos and words so they don’t clog up the page.
- Layers: Play with textures and colors to personalize your board.
- You are the creator of this board, so don’t be afraid to create it however you see fit.
Step 5: Write Affirmations
Including affirmations on your vision board will help you stick to your objectives. For example:
- I can pursue my career aspirations.
- ‘I create healthy and productive relationships.
- “I am healthy, strong, and very active.”
- These statements need to be expressed in the here and now if you’ve achieved it already. This teaches your brain to believe in your ability to succeed.
Step 6: Place Your Vision Board Strategically Away from You.
Keep your vision board where you can see it every day. This might be on your bedroom wall, your office desk, or even the wallpaper on your phone or computer. It’s simply a matter of not letting the outcome distract you.
Step 7: Talk to Your Vision Board Each Day.
It’s not enough to have a vision board, and you need to interact with it on a regular basis. How to tap into it:
- Imagery: Take a few minutes a day to visualize yourself accomplishing the things on your board.
- Retrospective: Look over your board from time to time and measure your accomplishments.
- Updates: Revise your board when your objectives change or as you reach goals.
- By working with your vision board on a daily basis, it continually reinforces your plan and helps you stay on track.
Step 8: Take Action
A vision board works best with action. Compress your goals into manageable mini steps and complete them on a regular basis. For instance, if you want to save for your dream home, establish a budget and monitor your savings.
Remember, manifestation isn’t magic, it’s the outcome of putting your thoughts and behaviors in alignment with your desired outcomes.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
While the process of creating a vision board is relatively straightforward, a few errors can make it less effective:
- Lack of Specificity: Non-specific aspirations such as “be happy” will never guide you.
- Overload: Keeping a constant flow of objects can overwhelm and reduce attention.
- Missing It: A vision board you never revisit is cosmetic.
- Failure to Take Action: Imagination without doing nothing.
- So do not fall into these traps and let your vision board make a difference.
The Science Behind Vision Boards
Vision boards are psychological in nature. By focusing on goals, you activate the brain’s RAS, which filters out irrelevant information and alerts to possibilities related to those goals. This is why visualizing your success every day is helpful—it teaches your brain to search for and recognise routes to your goals.
Final Thoughts
It isn’t simply about slamming images onto a board to build a successful vision board. It’s about converting your hopes into action and remembering your intentions. Follow these tips to create a vision board that will not only make you feel good, but also push you towards a better, more fulfilling future.
