How to Create a Vision Board

Vision boards are a great reminder of the focus you want to keep at the front of your mind. It’s easy to set a goal then let life bury it. A vision board, if kept in a visible location, can act as that visual motivator of what you are working toward.

This year I created a vision board to remind myself to stay positive. It’s a main focus of my life because I don’t want to find myself in a place where I let negativity consume me. I’ve been there and I don’t want to go back.

My vision board has bright colors because I love color. It has the Living a Sunshine Life flower because it’s one of the main methods I’m using to achieve my goals, both monetary and emotional in my personal life. The words and phrases on my board are included to make me think about what’s happening in my life and how I can apply them right now to get me where I want to be. Overall, I’m extremely happy with my board, and when I look at it I smile. I created something that makes me happy and seeing it gives me that positive boost I need to motivate me to keep doing what I’m doing to live a positive focused life.

Things to Keep in Mind When Making a Vision Board

There are some important things to remember when it comes to creating a vision board.

• It’s not effective for everyone.
• If you create it and forget it, it won’t help.
• Don’t just create a vision board for your end goal. Make sure you also include visual cues for action steps you’ll take along the way to reaching your goal.
• Creating a vision board isn’t a magical method to making your dreams come true. Just visualizing where you want to be is nothing more than dreaming. You have to take action and understand what you realistically need to accomplish to achieve those goals.
• Use your vision board as a reminder to what you are working toward and how you are working toward it. Don’t just think about those things. Act on them.
• Did I mention action is important?

You may have noticed I spent a lot of time pointing out the importance of taking action on your goals. Vision boards have gotten a lot of bad publicity because people were viewing them as a quick method of attracting the things they think about to them without paying attention to the other steps necessary in the process of making things happen. This isn’t how a vision board should be used. If you only think about something it’s never going to happen, you have to do the work to make it happen too.

Types of Vision Boards

Pinterest: Pinterest is a great place to store online images and quotes that are in line with your vision or goals. It’s even a fantastic place to hold onto actionable steps and articles that will help you on your path.

Collage: Collage is my favorite method for creation. I find it relaxing, and it gives me a chance to express my creativity in a different method than normal. Images can be found in magazines or other documents, you can also print them off the internet. I love the option of printing because if you can’t find a word you’re looking for you can always print it off in an appealing font. Though, you always have the option to spell out the words you want by cutting out different letters from magazines too.

Bulletin Board: Some people use an entire bulletin board for their vision board. On this board they can add and remove items as necessary. You can easily post goals and action steps, updating them along the way. Add in a few quotes and images and you’re on your way! This is a great option for more tangible goals such as reaching a sales or health goal, as opposed to my stay positive vision.

Journal: If you’re the type of person who keeps a journal with you all the time then it might be beneficial to create a small vision board on one of the pages of your journal. You can glue clipped motivational items onto a page, or write down goals, quotes, etc, in a prominent location. Another idea is if you’re a doodler or enjoy drawing, a zentangle vision board or a sketched out page might work for you.

Photo Album: Some people are motivated by memories or people in their life. In this case a motivational scrapbook or photo album might work for you. This will obviously be more than a one page vision board, but if it’s something you look through often, it might work for you.

Vision Board Tips

• Use the Internet for inspiration. Google images, pinterest, instagram, blogs; there are all kinds of visual inspiration sources out there.
• Keep your mind open. Don’t get tunnel vision on exactly what you think you want. As you keep working you may get some more ideas and attach symbolism to the project you hadn’t even considered.
• Think about what elements inspire you. Colors and positive words are much more inspirational to me than photos/images.
• Be true to yourself, don’t add things you think other people might expect you to put in. You’re making this for you, not anyone else.
• Before deciding how you want to create your vision board, think of the things you want to make sure are represented. It might guide you onto the method you decide to utilize.