I made my first vision board in October 2019, and as of last month, I’ve achieved, or I’m on my way to achieving everything I set out to. Not a humble brag, but to highlight the power of vision boards and how for me, they’ve really helped me achieve my goals. I’ve just made a new one focusing on September till December this year. Creating a vision of all the things I want to achieve and how I want to feel for the last part of 2020. I think we can all agree it’s been a wild year, but focusing in on what I do want in life is definitely making it a whole lot more joyful…
What is a vision board and why would you make one?
If you’re completely new to vision boards, they are a visualisation tool that represent things you want to achieve. As adults, we rarely give ourselves time to day dream about the life we want. A vision board helps you connect to your goals, reinforces positive thinking around your ability to achieve the goals and remember your purpose.
They should act as images of the future you desire. They maximise your ability to imagine how it feels, and what it looks like to achieve your goals. This is so powerful when it comes to manifesting, and actually putting the work in to get it done. Not only does the process of making the vision board help you really connect with what you want, it’s the continuation of seeing it and reminding yourself of what you want to achieve that can be really powerful too.
A digital board or physical, which is better?
You can have a digital or physical vision board. I really like having a physical board. I enjoy the process of making it and bringing all of the pieces together. A digital board could be something on Pinterest, something you make in word then keep as your laptop screensaver, or something you make on a tool like Canva and download.
There’s so many options for physical boards too. I had my first vision board on an old chalk board I used for my wedding and that worked well. This time I’ve used card so it’s easier to display and not so bulky. You could also use a cork or poster board – whatever works best for you and will be most practical.
From experience of using both, I much prefer physical boards. I feel like I use it more, I prefer the process of making it and overall they have just worked better for me.
Where to start with planning a vision board
Decide what works best for you
As I mentioned, you can create a physical or digital board. The principles of this post can be applied to creating a digital board, but there’s a step by step guide at the bottom that only applies to physical boards. If you’ve made a vision board in the past and found it too overwhelming, trying using bigger photos and focusing on just a few things.
Do you want your board to be broad or specific?
Do you want to focus in on a specific area of your life, or do you have more general goals across everything from relationships, career, fitness etc. For me I’ve always created broad vision boards, but for you there might be something you really want to focus in on. I don’t think there’s an advantage to doing either. Find what works for you based on the goals you want to focus in on.
Define the goals you want to focus on
This is a really important first step. Without knowing what you want to achieve, you’ll have no idea what you want to add to your vision board. Plus, it can be easy to get sucked into the conventional looking board that’s not relevant or exciting to you if you don’t get clear on this. Think of the experiences, feelings, and possessions you want to have. My focus is mostly on experiences and feelings, but a lot of people see amazing results by incorporating possessions into their boards. I write them all out on a piece of paper, ready for the next step.
Instead of rushing through this, I really like to take my time with this part and reflect on what I really want my life to look like. I’ll light a candle, make a cup of tea and really make a nice space for me to think positively about my goals and the months to come. Little things like this make the process even more enjoyable, and I love giving myself that time.
Find images/ quotes that resonate with you
I usually use old magazines and Pinterest to find images I want to add to my vision board. The reality is that you can get the pieces of your vision board from anything that’s visually inspiring to you. From there, I’ll cut out the images that resonate with me, represent my goals and make me feel truly excited about the future. This doesn’t have to be things that are directly relevant and obvious. One of the images on my most recent board is of sunflowers growing in a field, for me that’s a reminder that I want to achieve growth in certain areas of my life.
Don’t put pressure on yourself to do it all in one day
Just a little tip. You don’t have to do all of this in one day. You could spend a week gathering everything you want to add to your vision board, then dedicate some time to pulling it all together.
The best bit… How to make a vision board
I feel like I’m cheating making a ‘how to make a vision board’ blog post, because the actual making of the board is ridiculously easy. There’s nothing fancy or technical about how I make mine, but I thought I would share it anyway to hopefully give you some inspo. For the base I used a white piece of card. I much prefer it to a cork board, it’s less bulky and a better size for me. Figure out where you want to display your board and that will probably determine what kind of base you go for.
Things you will need:
- Plain piece of A3 card
- Glue
- A pen
- Scissors
You could also add things like glitter, washi tape, ribbon etc and really decorate your board. For me I prefer to use the off background colour, but ultimately keep it simple.
Once I’ve cut everything out and have the resources pulled together, I start off by seeing exactly where I want everything to fit on the board before gluing it. I definitely recommend this step, just to make sure you are 100% happy with the layout. Once it’s stuck down, there’s no going back. I just play around with the positioning and it seems to all come together.
Then I make sure to take a photo once it’s complete before I start gluing. This is just incase it moves during the process so I can remember exactly where I put everything.
Follow the layout and glue everything down. Then once you have everything glued in place, you might want to add some numbers or quotes that mean something to you in between the photos. An example of this could be £2000 if it’s a goal of yours to save £2000. Or if you want to reach a particular number of sales in your business you could pop that number on there too.
There’s not really many rules when it comes to creating your vision board. I think it works well alongside putting in a schedule and tasks in place that are going to help you to achieve the goals. Another thing is to not worry about time frames too much, just believe that if it’s on your vision board, it’s going to come true at some point!
So, you’ve made your vision board, here’s how to get the most out of it…
how do you use a vision board?
Take a few moments to reflect on your vision board every day
This is why I love having a physical board. It’s so much easier to see it and make the time to reflect on it. It makes me happy and reminds me of the goals I’m working towards and keeps me on the right track. While you’re looking at your board, remember that you are also capable and worthy of achieving those goals too. A vision board is a Law of Attraction tool, it’s helping you get to your dreams and goals quicker!
A few other ways to help manifest through visualisation and looking at your vision board is thinking about what you will be doing, what differences it will make to your routine, what you will be saying and thinking, and how it will make you feel. Trick your brain into thinking you already have what you want!
Positive affirmations to use with your vision board
Something you can use alongside your vision board is positive affirmations. For me it felt incredibly strange to use positive affirmations at the beginning. I had a lot of self doubt that made it uncomfortable to say all of the things I wanted to achieve with confidence. If you’re feeling that too, keep going. Trick your brain with positive affirmations that you’ve already got everything you need to achieve the goals on your vision board.
Going back to the £2000 money example, you could use a positive affirmation such as ‘I naturally attract money’ or ‘I am receiving money with ease’. They seem simple, but tell your brain this everyday while looking at your goals on the vision board and you’ll be surprised how uplifting and effective it can be.
Positive affirmations around your goals help you act as if you already have what you want from your board, which really helps with any niggles of self doubt creeping in.
Don’t have what you want yet? Try not to focus on that…
It can be really easy to question when you’re going to get what you want from your vision board, so try not to put timescales on it. Try and focus your attention to how you’re going to get what you want when these feelings creep in. Focusing on timescales of the outcome means you’re doubting whether it will happen, wondering if you’re capable or not really sure if it could come true. Go back to the positive affirmations, and trust that it will work out.
Update your vision board if you need to
As the weeks and months pass by, you may feel drawn to particular quotes or words, or see an image that you think will work really well on your board – add it on! Your board doesn’t have to be finished straight away, and it’s always better to have a board filled with things you find truly relevant and inspirational to you.
I hope you’ve found this useful if you’re looking to create a vision board and get the most out of it! I absolutely love using it as a manifesting tool, and it’s always a reminder to me that you can achieve anything you set your mind to and focus on.
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