A vision board is a reflection of your dreams and goals that serves as a daily reminder of what you want to do in your life. It’s an easy way to visualize your intentions and transform your life.
To some, this may seem like a silly DIY exercise, but it’s actually a tool to help you stay focused on identifying and achieving your goals. Much like journaling, it’s a great way to indulge in self-reflection and stimulate positivity.
Dreaming and having a vision, that’s what life is all about! What is your purpose, and why are you here?
Creating a vision board allows you to openly express your intentions. Going back to your board every day, stating your goals, and looking at your pictures will keep you on track and help make your dreams come true.
What are vision boards?
Vision boards are a great form of visualization that turns your hopes and desires into bulletin board-sized inspiration. They promote goal setting and make it easier to prioritize your values. Your inspiration board will highlight what you want out of life and how you plan to achieve it. Once the inspiration board is complete, it serves as a daily reminder of your goals and intentions, keeping you motivated and on track. It also allows you to avoid going down paths that were not part of your future plans or intentions. The idea is to manifest your future by visualizing it and coming back to that visualization daily. It’s a constant reminder of where you’re going and why.
How to make a vision board
The process of creating a vision board is easy, fun, and even therapeutic. It can be made on a bulletin board, magnetic whiteboard or cork board and should be hung in a place where you pass morning and evening.
To create your vision board, follow these steps:
Step One: Write down your goals
The first step in creating your dream board is to sit down and start writing down your personal life goal or dream. This may seem difficult to pin down, so start by writing down your goals in the following five categories:
Witty
Physical
Professional
Relational
recreational
For each of these areas, think about what you want to accomplish in the next one to five years. Specify and write down your goals for each category. For example, a spiritual goal might be 30 minutes of meditation or prayer each morning. For physical achievements, it could be losing 5 kg or running your first 5 km. The key is to be as specific as possible when writing your goals. You certainly have to be realistic, but you also have to push yourself to set an intention that you can achieve.
Step Two: Plan Your Strategies
Once you have written down your goals for each category, you need to add your strategies for achieving those goals. Chart the path to success by defining the steps you need to take to make your vision a reality. For example, if your spiritual goal is to meditate for 30 minutes a day, your strategy might be to wake up 30 minutes earlier and do it first thing in the morning.
Step Three: Add Visual Elements
Now that you’ve highlighted your goals and strategies, it’s time to visualize them. Flip through magazines, personal photos, or online images to find visuals that express your intentions. Pick any visual that speaks to your future and serves as a reminder of your future dreams. You can also cut out or print words that have special meaning to you or motivational quotes.
Now is the time to lay out your goals, strategies and visuals on the board
Perhaps the hardest part of vision boarding is defining your personal goals. It’s okay if it takes time, because this definition will be the core of your vision board.
Need some ideas to get you started? Of course, vision boarding is deeply personal and should reflect your specific goals and intentions.
If you find it difficult to set clear and realistic goals, here are some examples of goals and strategies:
Spiritual: practice meditation or prayer for 30 minutes a day.
Wake up at 6 a.m. and start meditating or praying first thing in the morning.
Physical: Lose 5 kilos and maintain your healthy weight.
Drink a green smoothie for breakfast every morning, and reduce portions at lunch and dinner.
Professional: Add 100 euros to your savings each month (6,000 euros in five years).
Prepare your coffee and lunch at home instead of going out, and set aside 25 euros per week for your savings account.
Relational: Participate in a women’s circle every month.
Find five to ten like-minded women and form a monthly circle of women who meet to discuss wellness, intentions, and strategies.
Recreational: Spend more time outdoors.
Take one hike or outdoor walk a week, and plan it ahead.
To add your goals and strategies to the picture board, you can type them up, print them out, and add them right in the middle, or each category can have its own area of the board. The layout is left to your discretion and should be aesthetic, since you will come back to it often to guide you.
How to use it
Use your vision board to remind yourself why life is exciting and has purpose. It reminds you daily where you are and where you want to go. The main thing is to place it in a place in your home where it can inspire you on a daily basis. It can be in your bathroom, your office or your bedroom.
Here’s what you can do with your table:
Watch it when you wake up in the morning and before you go to bed at night.
If you feel defeated, spend some time looking at your chart to get yourself back on track and boost your motivation.
Leave room on your board to add new goals and intentions.
Talk to your board. It may sound silly, but practice saying your goals out loud and making them happen.
Benefits
What are the benefits of a vision board? Here are a few :
1. Promotes Goal Setting
You’ve probably been told to set goals, but why are they so important? Research shows that goal setting is a strategy that helps individuals identify behaviors to change and create action steps. Goal setting and action planning can promote healthy behavior changes, which positively impacts overall well-being. Goal setting is even considered a fundamental component of successful interventions, and has been shown to maximize behavior change.
2. Boost motivation
Visualization has been found to elicit much stronger intentions when paired with a health message or goal. This is exactly what you do with the vision board template. Combining goals and action steps with visuals builds motivation and makes you much more likely to follow through with your intentions.
3. Fight Depression and Improve Mood
Goal setting can help improve mood, promote mental and emotional health, and fight depression. An Australian study showed that setting and achieving goals had a positive effect on patients’ mental health recovery.
What to keep in mind
Remember that over time your goals and intentions may change. It’s not serious ! You can refresh your table whenever needed. You may also complete some goals and need to set new ones. Plan to refresh your board every year, perhaps on your birthday. It’s a great opportunity to analyze how far you’ve come in a year, how close you are to your goals, and what new goals you can set for the future.
Remember that a bulletin board is not enough to make your dreams come true. It serves as a place to remind and inspire you, but action will be needed to achieve your goals and desires.
Conclusion
Visualization is a powerful mental exercise that promotes goal setting and achievement. A vision board allows you to define your goals and strategies, while adding motivating and inspiring visuals. A vision board highlights what you want in life and reminds you of it every day. After you’ve created your board, put it somewhere you’ll see it every day, and spend time looking at it, talking about it, and manifesting your intentions.
